| Wellbeing and New Zealand Workplaces – Key Issues Forum | June 6, 2006 |
In May, Seed held a forum exploring the key ‘human’ issues affecting the wellbeing of New Zealand workplaces currently.
Four speakers (Charlotte Stephens, Employers and Manufacturers Association; Anna Kenny, NZ Amalgamated Engineering, Printing and Manufacturing Union; Anthony Dancer, Anglican Social Justice; and Doris Cuthell, Seed), each outlined key issues that they had encountered from the perspective of their role supporting New Zealand workplaces.
Some of the issues highlighted are new and developing, others have been with us since we first began to group people together and form ‘organisations’.
How in touch are you with the key issues for people in your workplace? This article will offer you some starting points for discussion.
Distance and community
The distances people traveled to reach their place of work increased significantly several decades ago. This has continued to the extent that for most people it is now normal for their workplace and their home community to be in two different locations.
This has changed the way we connect to those we work with, also making issues such as childcare and access to medical support more complicated than they may have previously been when such needs were met within the neighbouring community. Time spent traveling to and from work has added to long working days.
Paradoxically, improving technology means that work is now more accessible despite distance, through home computers and laptops, email-enabled cell phones and other messaging devices.
One of the key impacts of these trends has been to blur the divide between our “work life” and “home life” – such that the term “work-life balance” has become part of the everyday language of workplace conversations for most organisations.
Employment trends
Statistically we know that that there are more people in employment than ever before in New Zealand today. For employers, a tight labour market creates its own set of challenges.
However, recent research also suggests that the rise in employment may not necessarily translate to an increase in fulfillment for those who are employed.
It seems to be an embedded part of the human psyche to look for a sense of meaning or purpose from our employment that goes beyond the pay cheque or wages. Where this is lacking and the organisation or workplace fails to talk about the value of an individual’s work and the value of the organisation’s work to the broader community, opportunities for work satisfaction are lost.
Also, despite the rising employment trends, current indicators also point to increasing levels of job insecurity and job losses. This was also captured in a recent NZ Herald headline: “NZ: the most pro-business country on earth is the second-worst for job protection” (Herald on Sunday, 4 June 2006).
While restructurings, and “down sizings” may be taken for granted by some as a part of today’s work environment, this perspective does little to insulate people against the insecurity and pain they face when it happens to them personally.
Organisations still face challenges in how they implement job changes in ways that assist individuals to rebuild the loss of confidence that restructures and re-engineering bring. Often overlooked are those left in the new structures who feel a sense of guilt at the fact they retained their job while others did not.
Employers and unions are both faced with the need to create cost-effective, competitive and productive organisations that employ people in fulfilling roles. Such organisations need to adapt quickly to changing market conditions and the impacts of technology in a way that ensures viability while also recognising individual human worth.
Coupled with other factors, changing organisational structures and employment trends can translate into very real health issues for both those affected by changes.
Wellbeing and health trends
During the early 90s, in a typical organization, 60-70% of employees would be union members. A decade later, union membership has decreased significantly to only 5-20% today. At the same time, increasing responsibility for the health and wellbeing of employees has been placed squarely on the shoulders of those who employ them.
Employees and workplaces are both being affected by the lifestyle choices made each day.
Increasing awareness of the relationship between individual employee health and workplace safety have brought into focus employees whose use of alcohol and drugs (even outside of working hours) puts themselves, their colleagues and their workplaces at risk.
Workplace drug and alcohol policies, testing and education programmes are becoming more common. Similarly, information on the impact of obesity, diabetes and other physical health issues in an aging workforce is causing employers to consider their role in encouraging healthier lifestyle choices through workplace initiatives such as physical health checks, fitness programmes and stop-smoking campaigns.
Workplace stress has been receiving particular focus from employers and unions and workplace health providers as a result of it being identified as a source of harm in recent changes to legislation. Navigating issues of individual confidentiality and dignity, while seeking to promote transparent management practice and open discussion of how best to support and manage personal health issues, will continue to be both sensitive and challenging for all parties
Despite these renewed areas of focus our workplaces remain dangerous places! Current statistics report that 700 to 1000 people die prematurely each year in New Zealand as a result of illness or disease linked directly to their workplace. Each year there are between 17,000 and 20,000 new cases of ‘workplace disease’ being reported.
Managing physical and psychological health at work continues to be a vital issue for New Zealand workplaces. This has meant that employers have been forced to recognise and begin to address the often complex issues of wellbeing in the workplace.
These are some of the key issues discussed by the speakers. They are by no means exhaustive, but they do provide some starting points for thinking about what might be ‘top-of-the-mind’ for your organisation or workplace.
As organisations are increasingly taking responsibility for meeting some of the wider needs of employees it re-emphasises the need to consider partnering with other providers for the care and wellbeing of your staff.
Managing issues at this level of complexity and sensitivity isn’t something to do alone.
Take the time to talk with us about how we can help meet the wellness needs of your workplace.
