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Section 2: Our Approach
Introduction
2.1 We know that being in work brings physical, mental, spiritual and financial benefits whilst conversely, being out of work for any length of time is detrimental to health and wellbeing. 13 Work, particularly if it is long-term and relatively secure, can promote confidence, independence and social inclusion. 14 It can also provide a focus for health promotion by providing a safe environment and offering a setting for advice and support to help us sustain healthy lifestyles. It therefore lies at the heart of efforts to improve our national quality of life.
2.2 Of course, work can bring health risks as well as benefits. Up to 16 per cent of Accident and Emergency attendees in Scotland have work related health problems 15 whilst the Labour Force Survey noted that 6 per cent of workers have had health problems caused by or made worse by their work. 16 There are particular health problems associated with lower socioeconomic groups in the workforce. 17Health and safety failures are estimated to cost around £0.5 billion every year, whilst new ways of working have brought new risks in terms of problems associated with visual and keyboard ergonomics, information overload, and pressures on the work-life balance. 18
Definition
2.3 A healthy working life is one that continuously provides working-age people with the opportunity, ability, support and encouragement to work in ways and in an environment which allows them to sustain and improve their health and wellbeing. It means that individuals are empowered and enabled to do as much as possible, for as long as possible, or as long as they want, in both their working and non-working lives.
2.4 A healthy working life depends upon far more than the absence of disease or infirmity. It demands that individuals maximise what is sometimes called "functional capacity"; our physical, mental and social capacity to make a positive contribution to society and gain the maximum satisfaction and consequent benefit from our working life. This involves improving peoples' fitness for the work they choose, equipping them to undertake such work and adjusting expectations of fitness, as the work available or personal circumstances change. This is as much about having appropriate skills, knowledge and being able to work in a safe and supportive environment that does not cause unnecessary stress or strain, as it is about physical wellbeing.
Scope
2.5 Our aim is to provide support and opportunities for individuals to maximise their functional capacity throughout their working lives. This begins with employability and includes support for the development of basic skills for those who find themselves at some distance from the workplace, services to address physical or mental health conditions and advice on vocational, education or training issues. Whilst in work, it requires support to engender and facilitate a commitment to lifelong learning, ensure that people work in safe, supportive environments, maintain awareness of the importance of healthy lifestyles and provide access to a range of rehabilitation services should physical or mental health issues compromise effectiveness.
2.6Healthy Working Lives requires the commitment of Scottish employers. This in turn, requires us to enhance mechanisms for advice, support and recognition. We need to make and publicise the business case which will persuade employers to invest in creating and sustaining supportive and inclusive cultures, offer employment opportunities to disadvantaged groups, provide health benefits for their staff and promote involvement in workplace-based health improvement initiatives. It requires a comprehensive approach to the promotion and management of occupational health and safety within Scottish workplaces to retain and sustain a healthy, productive workforce.
2.7 To be successful, we believe that our strategy and actions need to be based upon the following principles:
- Engagement of employers and the self employed - we need to secure the support of employers across the private, public, voluntary and social enterprise sectors as well as those who are self-employed or seeking to establish their own business. This will require us to engage with employers at both local and national level on the basis of a clear and readily accessible proposition which adds value to their organisations. This in turn, requires us to develop a clear business case and a range of other resources to encourage employer investment in workplace health.
- Focus - we need to demonstrate the value of the workplace as a setting for the delivery of health promotion. This requires us to identify the ways in which the workplace can be used to support national programmes on smoking, drugs, obesity, alcohol, physical activity, health and homelessness and mental health.
- Reach - Healthy Working Lives requires action that stretches far beyond the traditional health agenda. We need to build upon, and complement, other Executive and reserved strategies for supporting people into formal employment and through this, help to tackle the causes and consequences of poverty and deprivation and provide suitable education and training opportunities for Scottish employees.
- Integration - although the National Health Service (NHS) has an important role to play, it cannot act alone. We need to work with local government, voluntary groups, trade unions, professional and representative groups, the academic community and employers to develop and sustain a programme of change. In particular we need to integrate our approach with the actions and plans of the UK-wide Department for Work and Pensions and Health and Safety Executive, as well as Scottish Enterprise and Highlands and Islands Enterprise in relation to creating a "Smart, Successful Scotland".
- Research - our approach needs to be underpinned by a commitment to establishing the evidence base for our actions and disseminating this learning, in accessible ways, to the organisations and individuals that can make a difference.
2.8Healthy Working Lives is a long-term strategy which requires a long-term commitment from those involved. We need to raise awareness of the importance of the challenge and set aside traditional boundaries, of whatever sort, in order to deliver meaningful results for our working population.
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