Occupational Health Management

Digitalization, demographic change, global networking – our working world is changing! This also presents companies like yours with new challenges. Not only are life expectancy and the average age increasing, but employees are also continuing their working lives for longer and longer. That’s why organizational health management is increasingly important. Preventive measures are playing an ever more important role. And younger generations are attaching more and more importance to their physical and mental well-being. Find out here what organizational health management is all about and how you can implement it successfully.

• maintaining and promoting mental and physical health
• increasing employee engagement 
• reducing absence due to sickness
• establishing a healthy working environment

Here’s why occupational health management is important for companies

We have already given you a few profound reasons above. However, there are many more advantages to implementing corporate health management – both for your company and for your employees. Occupational health management

• strengthens your staff’s physical and mental health,
• creates a health-promoting work environment,
• increases employee performance,
• reduces absenteeism due to incapacity,
• shows staff appreciation and thus strengthens employee engagement,
• improves your employer branding,
• prevents early retirement due to health problems, and
• motivates employees to implement health-promoting and preventive measures themselves.

All these are good reasons to deal with the various aspects of health management. Last but not least, employers thereby fulfill their legal duty of care.

What is occupational health management made of?

Occupational health management, also known as OHM, consists of planning, introducing and monitoring the success of all measures contributing to a health-promoting working environment. There are two directions of action here: On the one hand, the company is responsible for creating the necessary structures and processes to keep the staff healthy and productive. This direction is also referred to as relationship-oriented prevention. The tasks here include, above all, the protection of employees, organizational health promotion and workplace reintegration management.

The second aspect is behavior-oriented prevention. Here, the company introduces measures that enable employees to do something for their health themselves. In the context of occupational health management, these can include offerings such as fitness rooms, sports courses, or healthy snacks and beverages.

Goals of occupational health management

For successful health management in the company, it is important to proceed in a targeted manner. Before you start thinking about what might be useful for your company, we will first introduce you to the basic objectives of health management. In addition to the main objective of creating health-promoting working conditions, these include:

• improving workforce and organizational development
• ensuring occupational health and safety
• preventing illness and addiction
• fulfilling the legal obligation for occupational integration management
• implementing measures for workplace health promotion
• improving the employees’ quality of life and work-life balance
• strengthening employee engagement and retention
• crisis and emergency management
• reducing sick leave and staff turnover
• establishing a health-promoting management and corporate culture

Measures for occupational health management in companies

You can implement the goals of occupational health management through a variety of measures. Which ones suit your company depends on how the company is organized and on its specific objectives. There are also measures that are required by law, such as occupational health and safety or company reintegration.

On a structural level, i.e., for relationship-oriented prevention, the following measures are suitable:

• occupational health and safety measures that are mandatory for your industry
• a health-promoting work environment with ergonomic office furniture, standing desks, etc.
• exercise promotion through fitness rooms or a sports ground
• healthy snacks and drinks, a balanced menu in the canteen
• effective absenteeism management
• implementation of health pilots as contacts for all health management issues

Occupational health measures on the behavior-oriented prevention level include:

• providing sports classes, physical activity breaks, relaxation exercises, etc.
• back training courses and instructions for better posture
• participation in company runs or introduction of a health day with a variety of offers
• raising awareness about health issues such as nutrition, physical and mental illnesses, or fitness
• executive coaching
• measures to strengthen resources and cope with stress
• measures to prevent addiction and burnout

individual counseling on health-related topics

What is the difference between occupational health management and organizational health promotion?

Organizational health promotion, also known as OHP, is a part of OHM. It refers primarily to the employees’ health and behavior-oriented prevention measures. In health management, on the other hand, you focus on the superordinate structures and processes in the company. Both approaches help to create a more health-promoting work environment.

Implementing occupational health management in four steps

In order to conceptualize occupational health management, you should proceed strategically. The following four steps have proven results:

1. Situation Analysis: The first step is an analysis of the current situation. Ask yourself what health-promoting measures are already in place in the company. It is also advisable to conduct a risk assessment with regards to physical and mental stress and illnesses. You can also evaluate employee absenteeism, health insurance reports and biometric data.
2. Objectives: Based on your inventory, you now define specific, realistic and measurable objectives. Focus on the present conditions that appear to be in need of improvement. Many companies develop these goals in workshops. It is also helpful to distinguish between hard goals (such as reducing absenteeism) and soft goals (such as improving the working environment).
3. Selecting and implementing measures: Now decide on organizational health measures that fit the predefined goals. Plan the implementation, get potential cooperation partners on board and communicate your plan to the employees. Only if they know about the new offers will they also use them.
4. Evaluation of success: To ensure that the measures implemented have a lasting effect, you must regularly review their success. This can be done, for example, by conducting staff surveys or evaluating how frequently an offer is used. Depending on the results, you can improve, replace or expand the measures.

Occupational health management is a process. That’s why it is important to repeatedly go through the four steps in a cycle. Consistent monitoring of results and continuous improvement are the secrets of successful health promotion in the workplace. 

Digital corporate health management

Digital solutions are an essential part of modern health management. The simpler and more accessible a measure is, the better it will be welcomed by the employees. Digital exercise opportunities and apps such as Humanoo bring health promotion to the smartphone. With us, users not only find a wide range of coaching options and challenges from a wide variety of areas, they can also measure their individual progress and receive monetary and non-monetary rewards. Furthermore, you can easily request feedback via the app. This way, you can always keep an eye on the well-being of your employees!