Healthy workplaces support sustainable working lives
EU-OSHA's two-year Healthy Workplaces Campaigns are about fostering healthy working practices and the 2016-17 edition is no exception. This time, the focus is all about promoting sustainable working lives. The aim is to help everyone - from workers to managers to employers - overcome the challenges of an ageing workforce.
Why is this topic suddenly taking on such importance? The answer is simple. Europe’s workforce is ageing. It is estimated that workers aged 55-64 will make up 30 % of the workforce by 2030 in many European countries, representing a major demographic change. On top of this, official retirement ages are also rising across Europe, resulting in longer working lives.This means that we will all most likely be working longer than previous generations did. A longer working life means an increased exposure to occupational risks, vulnerability to hazards, and a possible increase in chronic health problems. How can these risks be lessened? By ensuring good OSH practices of course. In fact, a pan-European opinion poll on occupational safety and health conducted by EU-OSHA in 2012 found that 87 % of Europeans feel that good OSH practices can help improve one’s health and working life.
Fostering good working conditions also makes good business sense. If companies and organisations wish to avoid problems such as low productivity, absenteeism, labour shortages, lack of skilled workers and not meeting their legal obligations, then providing good and healthy workplaces for their employees is a good place to start. Employers are likely to see reductions in staff turnover and improvements in productivity by doing so.
So what can organisations do to concretely ensure safe and healthy workplaces for everyone of working age? Some successful approaches identified so far include taking a life-course approach by tailoring work to people’s individual needs, focusing on risk prevention, and by taking a holistic approach to OSH management. The campaign E-guide is particularly useful in this regard as it’s filled with concrete examples as well as links to extra resources that can help enterprises manage the safety and health of workers of all ages.
Employers can also work to mainstream good OSH practices into active ageing policies, create better coordination between human resources and OSH departments, and introduce effective rehabilitation and return-to-work systems.
Throughout the campaign, we’ll be bringing you lots more information about healthy workplaces for all ages, so make sure to stay tuned by checking out the new campaign website and don’t forget to sign up to receive the campaign newsletter with all its latest news and event announcements, directly in your inbox. Finally, we encourage you to also follow and promote the campaign on social media, including Facebook, LinkedIn and Twitter, using the hashtag #EUhealthyworkplaces.