Health At Work

For a large part of our waking hours we are at work, which means the working environment can play a big part in our overall wellbeing.

 In 2008/9,

• Almost 30 million working days were lost due to workplace injury and ill-health. With the two biggest causes:
  • 11.4 million days were lost because of work-related stress, depression and anxiety
  • 9.3 million working days were lost due to work-related back pain and other musculoskeletal disorders

There are many things that employees can do not only to reduce their risk of work-related ill-health but also to utilise their time at work to maintain their health.

Everwell has a range of services that can help employers to enhance health in the workplace and encourage employees to take an active part in managing their own health.

Stress
Clearly not all stress is work-related, but knowing how to deal with excessive pressure at work is critical. So we can help teach your Managers or employees identify the symptoms of stress.  And of course once identified, action can be taken to avoid it making employees ill. 

Back pain
Causes of it are poor posture, an awkward twisting movement (bending or reaching), or lifting too much or a combination thereof.

Everwell can help with ergonomic/Display Screen Equipment (DSE) assessments or Manual Handling Training.

RSI
Repetitive strain injury (RSI) is more likely to occur if you spend long periods of work without a break, sit on an uncomfortable chair or work at a poorly arranged workstation. Equally an incorrect technique when using a computer keyboard and mouse, mobile phone or hand-held device can also lead to RSI.

It isn’t simply modern technology that causes RSI but factory assembly-line workers, musicians, tailors and cleaners are other common sufferers.

Sitting
If you work on a computer, it's important to take regular breaks (5minutes away from the keyboard every hour), know about and adopt the correct sitting posture, have the correct desk set-up and know how to use your chair..

Everwell can help with ergonomic/Display Screen Equipment (DSE) assessments / Training.

Exercise / Eating / General Health Promotion
It isn’t always easy to fit physical activity into our busy working lives. Many of us spend very long hours at work and may have a long and tiring commute. And it is all too easy to slip into bad eating habits at work.  So Everwell can work with you to promote general health at work within a normal day, for example:

• Cycle or walk part, if not all, of your journey to work.
• Walk over to someone's desk at work rather than emailing them.
• Take the stairs instead of the lift.
• Utilise your lunch break to exercise. Your office may have a gym, you may have access to a nearby swimming pool or fitness centre, take a walk.
• Encourage healthier snacks / lunches.
• Ensure easy access to water rather than fizzy drinks.
• Create general health awareness campaigns.
• Help with quitting smoking.
• Give employees access to regular ‘general’ awareness newsletters and internet site.

We would be happy to explore how these ideas and others can be built into an workplace service for your company

Occupational Health
Everwell can offer guidance and delivery all normal statutory type health surveillance and help with sickness absence management; in short we can provide a comprehensive workplace occupational health service.  Please see other sections of our website for a flavour of how we can help you maintain your employees health at work.