In 2004, Dr Lowe received the Canadian Workplace Wellness Pioneer Award, in recognition of his significant achievements and contributions in the field of organisational health.  He is now the President of The Graham Lowe Group, Inc.

We share excerpts of his keynote address and a local case study of a healthy organisation – the Nanyang Polytechnic (NYP). Dr Bryan Chua, Deputy Director of the School of Health Sciences (Allied Health) and Chairman of NYP’s WHP Committee, was invited to speak at the conference. He shared with the audience the health culture at NYP.

Building Healthy Organisations: The New Frontier

As defined by the US National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health, a healthy work organisation is “one whose culture, climate and practices create an environment that promotes employee health and safety as well as organisational effectiveness.”

Employers can use workplace health promotion as a stepping stone to a healthy organisation by thinking more strategically about employee well-being. The healthy organisation model is the new frontier in which to make an even closer connection between employee health and wellness and business success.

Business success depends on enabling employees to be physically, mentally, emotionally and socially well. A healthy organisation values positive working relationships where employees are inspired to collaborate, learn, contribute and achieve their health and wellness goals.

In every sector of the economy, organisations are taking bold steps to move from individual to organisational health promotion. The challenge lies in mobilising managers and employees to work around a shared vision of this new frontier.

Healthy organisations go even further, using a broad definition of success that incorporates financial performance and an emphasis on quality and innovation with corporate, social and environmental responsibility. If a vibrant work environment is the cornerstone of a healthy organisation, then a healthy culture is the foundation on which that cornerstone rests.

Integrating Health into Our Culture: The NYP Way

Nanyang Polytechnic (NYP) has over 1300 academic and non-academic staff, mostly aged between 30 to 50 years old. The educational institution places great emphasis on employee well-being and adopts a multi-pronged approach to promote health and wellness amongst its people.

NYP’s strong workplace health culture stems from its WHP committee, which comprises enthusiastic staff of different levels and from various schools. The company’s strong management support is another factor. NYP’s Principal & CEO is an active supporter and participant of WHP activities.

NYP’s strong management support is clearly evident. For instance, management provides for allocation of resources, budget and manpower annually. It also seeks to continually upgrade sports and recreational facilities as well as fitness equipment and to appoint professional fitness instructors to design specific programmes.

In addition, the institution adopts family-friendly policies, implements appropriate awards and recognition systems, encourages staff to participate in major in-house and national workplace health events and provides for complimentary health screening.

The robust workplace health culture allows the WHP committee to implement creative initiatives such as offering free basic health screening to the family members of employees. Staff suggestions, gathered through formal and informal feedback channels are given due thought and consideration. 

The overall result is greater health awareness, lifestyle modification and a stronger sense of camaraderie and belonging among staff.

Presentation slides of the various speakers at the 8th National Conference on Workplace Health Conference is available on HPB’s website.