Record 446 Companies Recognised By HPB For Their Efforts To Improve Workplace Health

Singapore, 30 November 2012: More companies are investing in Workplace Health Programmes (WHP) as witnessed by the record number of applications for the 2012 Singapore HEALTH (Helping Employees Achieve Life-time Health) Award (SHA). HEALTH Leader awards were presented to three recipients for their commitment and support for workplace health programmes. A further 13 individuals were recognised for their outstanding contributions in promoting a healthy lifestyle in the workplace.

2. One third of the corporate recipients were winners from the 2010 awards who progressed to a higher award category this year, demonstrating a sustained and progressive effort in ensuring that workplace health programmes are accessible to and benefit all their staff.

Health Promotion efforts for at-risk workers

3. To enhance the availability of WHP programmes across Singapore, Health Promotion Board (HPB) has commenced discussions with NTUC to develop schemes and programmes for union members to ensure the availability of WHP programmes for at-risk segments of the workforce - low-wage workers, mature workers and economically-inactive or casual workers. The details of the partnership and initiatives are expected to be announced in the first quarter of next year. 2 4 Said Dr Amy Khor, Minister of State for Health and Manpower, “While the take up of WHP programmes by companies has shown significant progress over the past decade, the at-risk segments of the workforce such as low-wage workers, mature workers and casual workers traditionally have limited opportunities for healthy lifestyle and health screening activities at their workplaces. All segments of Singapore’s workforce should benefit from workplace health initiatives and only through the concerted and collaborative efforts of the government, unions and employers can we look forward to a nation of healthy workers. I am therefore pleased that HPB and NTUC will be joining forces to extend targeted health promotion efforts to the at-risk segments of the workforce.” MOU to Pilot Workplace Mental Health Programmes 5. To bolster the availability of HPB’s Workplace Mental Health Solution programme within the manufacturing sector, a Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) was signed today with the Singapore Manufacturing Federation (SMF). The MOU will see HPB and SMF join forces to help companies in the manufacturing sector participate in mental health initiatives to the benefit of their employees. 6. Said Ang Hak Seng, Chief Executive Officer, Health Promotion Board, “According to the 2010 National Workplace Health Promotion Survey, one in four (27%) companies have a mental wellbeing programme offered at their workplace. Increased investment in mental health programmes has been observed across most industry sectors over the last 4 years, however, the manufacturing sector has reported the lowest growth in investment at about 20%. The sector faces unique operating challenges, as workers tend to be older and work shift hours. It is therefore imperative that we develop customised Workplace Mental Health Solutions for the sector. Under the agreement, a Workplace Mental Health Consortium Model will be piloted over the coming year. The consortium model is based on aggregating demand and will enable the provision of shared services for companies in the manufacturing sector. From better economies-of-scale, companies will be able to access a broader base of services given the shared resources and expertise for the customisation of programmes.” 3 Productivity through Presenteeism 7. Productivity is regularly measured by using absence due to sickness as the primary gauge of employee health and performance. A recent study undertaken by HPB to help companies develop more appropriate measures of productivity has identified ‘presenteeism’ as a more accurate proxy to measure workers’ health and how it impacts upon their daily work. HPB’s study found that companies with sustained and progressive WHP programmes could anticipate a reduction in presenteeism-related losses of $600 per employee annually. 8. The SHA has been held bi-annually since it started in 1999. There are four corporate award categories: Platinum; Gold; Silver and Bronze. In addition to the corporate categories, there are individual awards, and sub-category awards for physical activity; nutrition; smoke-free and mental well-being. The SHA is assessed on the basis of four key areas: Positioning and Organisation; Planning; Evaluation and Results, and Comprehensiveness. *-*-* Annex 1 Factsheet on the Singapore HEALTH (Helping Employees Achieve Life-Time Health) Award 2012 Annex 2 Factsheet on HPB-SMF MOU

Media Release

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