The rapid development of workplace health protective and preventive services has been driven by government strategies and recommendations, as well as by the European Union legislation in the areas of health and safety at work and by the European Commission programme in public health. This was also largely due to the new demands and expectations from employers, employees and their representative bodies as they recognize the economic, social and health benefits achieved by providing these services at the workplace, thus providing the available knowledge and evidence necessary for the continuous improvement of workplace health management. Comprehensive workplace health management is a process involving all stakeholders inside and outside any business. It aims at empowering them to take control over their own health and their family’s health considering environmental, lifestyle, occupational and social health determinants and quality of health care. It is based on health promotion principles and it creates a great challenge to health, environment and safety professionals providing services, advice, information and education to social partners at work. It involves also taking care of considerable socioeconomic interest of all involved stakeholders. It has been shown in several instances that the business utilizing a well managed research based occupational health service can gain a competitive advantage by:
Protecting human health against health and safety hazards occurring in the work environment.
Promoting human health workplaces for all ages and healthy aging by appropriate work culture, work organization and support to social cohesion.
Promoting mental health, healthy lifestyle and preventing major non-communicable diseases using specific workplace health policies and management tools.
Maintaining work ability thus also employability throughout working life.
Reducing health care costs caused by employees’ and employers’ injuries, diseases, illnesses and premature retirement resulting from or influenced by occupational, environmental, life style and social health determinants
Using resources effectively, protecting the natural environment and creating a health supportive environment.
Improving social communication and literacy on health, environment and ethics.
This article series describes the author’s observations of various roles undertaken by the occupational health nurse. Whilst recognizing the wide variation that exists in occupational health nursing practice between different industrial and blue collar environments this series reflects the standards that have already been achieved where occupational health nursing is at its most advanced. However it has to be recognized that the level of education, professional skills and the exiting national legislation determines what role can be actually undertaken by occupational health nurses. Even more important is to remember that no one professional out of the exiting workplace health professions is now capable to meeting all health needs of the working population. A multi-disciplinary approach is needed to effectively manage the growing workplace health and safety demands in business today.The workplace health services use the skills of many professionals such as specialist occupational physicians, safety engineers, occupational hygienists, occupational health nurses, ergonomists, physiotherapists, occupational therapists, laboratory technicians, psychologists and other specialists. The role and tasks actually performed for the companies by representatives of different health and safety professions vary greatly depending upon legislative needs, scope of the workplace health concept perceived by directors, enforcement practice, the level of their education, position in the occupational health infrastructure, actions undertaken by insurance institutions and many other factors. Occupational health nurses are the largest single group of health professionals involved in delivering health services at the workplace and have the most important role to play in the workplace health management. They are at the frontline in helping to protect and promote the health of the nations working population.The role of the occupational health nurse in workplace health management is a new and exciting concept that is designed to improve the management of health and health related problems in the workplace. Specialist occupational health nurses can play a major role in protecting and improving the health of the working population as part of this strategy. Occupational health nurses can also make a major contribution to the sustainable development, improved competitiveness, job security and increased profitability of businesses and communities by addressing those factors which are related to the health of the working population. By helping to reduce ill health occupational health nurses can contribute to the increased profitability and performance of organizations and reduce health care costs. Occupational health nurses can also help to reduce the externalization of costs onto the taxpayer, by preventing disability and social exclusion, and by improving rehabilitation services at work. By protecting and promoting the health of the working population, and by promoting social inclusion, occupational health nurses can also make a significant contribution towards building a caring social ethos within the UK. This article provides guidance to employers and employees on establishing workplace health management systems within their own organizations. On how to determine and develop the role and functions of the occupational health nursing specialist within each enterprise and where to go for additional help and advice in relation to occupational health nursing.Changing nature of working life and the new challengesThe world of work has undergone enormous change in the last hundred years. To a large extent the very heavy, dirty and dangerous industries have gone, and the burden of disease, which came with them, in most European countries, has declined. However, the new working environments and conditions of work that have replaced them have given rise to new and different concerns about the health of the working population. Exposure to physical, chemical, biological and psychosocial risk factors at work are now much more clearly linked to health outcomes in the mind of the general public. Expectations of society in regard to health at work have also changed, with increasing demands for better standards of protection at work and for the improvement of the quality of working life. Employers are also recognizing that health-related issues, such as sickness absence, litigation and compensation costs, increasing insurance premiums, are expensive; ignoring them can lead to serious economic consequences. The best employers’ emphasize the important message that good health is good business, and that much can be achieved in this field simply by introducing good management practices.The Need for Workplace ManagementThere are approximately 400 million people who work in the EU Member States. The majority of whom spend more than one half of their waking life at work. However, fatal accidents at work are still common. The standardized incident rates per 100,000 workers in the European Union show that the fatal accident rate varies between 1.6 in the UK to 13.9 in Spain, with Austria, Greece, France, Italy and Portugal all above 5.0%. In the entire European region there are approximately 200 to 7500 non-fatal accidents per 100,000 employees per year, of which around 10% are severe leading to over 60 days absence from work, and up to 5%, per year, lead to permanent disability. It has been estimated that the total cost to society of work related injuries and ill health in the European Union is between 185 billion and 270 billion ECU per year, which represents between 2.6% to 3.8% of Gross National Product (GNP) in member states. The cost of workplace accidents and ill health, in both financial and human terms, remains an enormous, largely unrecognized burden in UK. The majority of those accidents and diseases could have been prevented if appropriate action had been taken at the workplace. Many responsible employers have consistently demonstrated that by paying attention to these issues this type of harm and the subsequent costs can be avoided, to the benefit of everyone concerned. Increasing concern is the growing awareness of occupational stress. Up to 42% of workers in a recent survey complained about the high pace of work. Job insecurity, fear of unemployment, lack of a regular salary and the potential loss of work ability are all additional sources of stress, even for those in employment.The wide ranging social and health effects of occupational stress on the health of the working population are well documented, for example 23% of workers surveyed claimed that they had been absent from work for work related health reasons in the previous twelve months. The resulting cost of sickness absence in United Kingdom is considered to be substantial. In the UK 177 million working days were lost in 1994 as a result of sickness absence; this has been assessed at over 11 billion in lost productivity. HSE statistics are encouraging given in 2009; only 29.3 million days were lost overall, 24.6 million due to work-related ill health and 4.7 million due to workplace injury. Much of this burden of ill health and the resulting sickness absence is caused, or is made worse by working conditions. Even where ill health is not directly caused by work, but by other non-occupational factors such as smoking, lifestyle, diet etc. Interventions designed to improve the health of the working population, delivered at the workplace, may help to reduce still further the burden of ill health. At present the socioeconomic impact of environmental pollution caused by industrial processes on the working population is uncertain, but it is likely to contribute further to the burden of ill health in some communities.
. When you take the time to really LEARN something, when you COMMIT to really mastering something, you will reach a place where you now have the confidence and freedom to do it consistently.But, there will always be people out there who will never “get” it.I don’t think it’s that people aren’t WILLING to get up off of their couch, put the remote down, and actually INVEST the time and effort required to become GREAT at something.It’s just that FEAR holds us back. The “not knowing” can paralyze someone trying to make the leap from what you have and do today to what you want to have and do tomorrow.So, I’d like you to do something right now.Take a moment, and make the decision and commitment to yourself that you’re going to TAKE ACTION in the areas of your life that you want to improve, and you’re going to do what it takes to stay on track until you get the results that you’re looking for.If you want to get more involved in investing with real estate, you want to learn how to get better returns on your existing money, and you want to “plug in” to a way to make more money with real estate than many people’s fear of success allows them to believe possible……then you’re in the right place!Another problem with real estate investing is that a lot of people don’t know where to START.They REALIZE the power of leverage and they get excited about double digit returns and five-figure checks… but the “not knowing” and uncertainty about risk creeps into their subconscious mind and suffocates their desires.They get frustrated that they don’t know how to get on the right track and where to learn the “how to” of things that actually work.When I first decided that I had to learn how to create my own income and become an entrepreneur, I spent probably a year or two “wandering around” trying to find out what worked.Honestly, I ran around in a lot of circles trying things that sounded like good ideas… but wound up being complete B.S.After trying a number of off-the-wall things (because when you’re determined to STOP being an employee and TAKE CHARGE of your life, the desire to become an entrepreneur and reach financial freedom can become a blazing-hot fire driving from within that can lead you literally ANYWHERE) and these things I tried FAILED…after that,I decided to stop and take a look around.And what did I see? When you strip away all the glitter and all the dross, when you peel back all the illusions of media and society and education, and you look down at the EARTH ITSELF, what do you SEE?Real Estate.There was my answer.So I committed to learning how to become a real entrepreneur, someone who understood the secrets involved in real estate investing. I pushed myself to “get it”.Then, once I finally figured out some of the ideas, techniques and skills it was going to take to really become great at this, it took awhile to really learn the skills and practice them to the point where I could use them and have predictable success with them.Why am I telling you this?Because I’d like to save you some of the time, effort, expense and hassle that I put into figuring out all of this stuff… and I’d like to help you swing the odds in your favor when it comes to real estate success.I’d like you to take advantage of the fact that I’ve spent literally thousands of hours learning as much as I possibly could about this stuff, and I’ve spent hundreds more organizing this information and putting it together in a way that you can pick up and use IMMEDIATELY to get better results investing in real estate.My question for you is:ARE YOU GOING TO TAKE CHARGE OF THIS AREA OF YOUR LIFE OR ARE YOU GOING TO SIT BACK LIKE MOST OTHER PEOPLE WHO NEVER WIND UP GETTING WHAT THEY WANT IN LIFE?I’ll talk to you again soon I hope.Your Friend,Danny W.