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interesse e in quello della collettività, l’azienda sceglie
quindi, attraverso il lavoro congiunto dei datori di
lavoro, dei lavoratori, del medico competente e delle
Aziende Sanitarie Locali, di favorire l’adozione di
comportamenti e scelte positive per la salute. Ciò
significa e presuppone che la società non si limiti
ad attuare tutte le misure per prevenire infortuni e
malattie, ma si impegni e lavori per ridurre i fattori
di rischio maggiormente implicati nella genesi delle
malattie croniche. Le malattie di domani, infatti,
saranno sempre più legate agli stili di vita e di
conseguenza a fattori per larga misura controllabili
dall’individuo.
Il clima aziendale può influenzare molto lo stile di
vita dei propri lavoratori, le persone passano oltre
1/3 del proprio tempo sul lavoro, o in occasioni di
lavoro, le imprese virtuose che offrono opportunità
e interventi educativi per migliorare il benessere dei
propri dipendenti, svolgono anche un’azione positiva
a livello collettivo; i comportamenti e i valori appresi
al lavoro potranno infatti orientare e influenzare
positivamente familiari e conoscenti, in questo
modo la Promozione alla Salute diventa una risorsa
ed un investimento sociale. Nella pratica, una volta
individuate le problematiche come quelle segnalate
dal lavoratore C., raccontate dal lavoratore L.,
tenendo conto anche del punto di vista dal lavoratore
S., si costruisce un percorso approvato e condiviso con
l’azienda e le Unità Sanitarie Locali, per incoraggiare
comportamenti sani e dare inizio al cambiamento,
incentivando ad esempio l’attività fisica, fattore
protettivo per la salute e contrastando la sedentarietà
(elemento di rischio per numerose patologie); oppure
promuovendo programmi per smettere di fumare, o
ancora sostenere comportamenti alimentari salutari,
per citarne solo alcuni. Con il tempo e la messa
in campo delle azioni condivise, il benessere dei
dipendenti si tradurrà inevitabilmente in risultati
positivi per l’azienda perché dal veder realizzate e
soddisfatte le proprie esigenze individuali deriva una
maggiore motivazione e, citando il lavoratore S., “La
voglia di restituire il favore”, in questo caso alla ditta
per cui si lavora, attraverso dedizione e impegno.
Knowledge and Prevention:
tools that help promote health
at work, to encourage healthy
lifestyles and better living
Employee C. struggles with his weight. Over the last
three years, he has been on 6 diets, seen 5 nutritionists
and has had 1000 failed weight loss attempts.
Nothing has worked. Employee L. has a lot of trouble
controlling stress, at least that’s what her colleagues
say. Employee S. has seen dozens of specialists
and changed numerous brands of cigarettes, but
he can’t stop smoking. Maybe, as his wife says, he
has never really tried. These are some of the stories
that I have been lucky enough to listen to over the
years. They were the stories that led me to talk about
organisational wellness.
The work environment is a complex structure of
relationships, emotions, perceptions, expectations,
and desires. It is a physical, decision-making
and spatial environment that can sometimes,
unfortunately, encourage the relinquishment of
individual behaviours, both in terms of spontaneity and
subjectivity, if perceived as harmful to the company
and its organisation. But it is precisely in these cases
that you should take care of your health as much as
your entertainment. If we all did so, we would never
be sick. I never tire of repeating it to the personnel I
visit, to the employers and to my employees. And by
dint of repeating it, it works.
Health - as defined in 1948 by the World Health
Organisation (WHO) - “is not only the absence of
disease or infirmity but also a state of complete
physical, social and mental well-being. This is a new
approach to health, a new paradigm of reference,
which tells us that we need to promote health and
no longer just cure diseases. The current concept
of health sees it as an interaction between physical
and mental dimensions, between the home, living
and work spaces, and between cultural, social and
political climates. This is a positive concept that values
social and personal resources, as well as physical
capabilities (Ottawa Charter, 1986)”. It is therefore
not an abstract and intangible condition, but a means
by which to lead a productive life on individual, social
and working levels.
Corporate Health Promotion can be described as the
balance of environmental, training and educational
initiatives that serve to modify conditions in order
to achieve and exert greater control over one’s own
health and to improve it. By keeping in mind the
stories told by the workers I visited, I have interpreted
the phrase “Corporate Wellness” to be: “A healthy
working environment that makes me feel good and
a company that cares about me and my health”.
According to my experience, this is where you have to
start when designing wellness promotion programs.
Keep in mind that you must do it together, because the
best results are obtained when people feel like leading
actors, able to identify and achieve their goals, to
meet their needs and to affect their environment or
adapt to it.
Before starting, it is also necessary to have a strong
company culture, or at least one that is perceived
within the company, that is understood to be a set of
values, beliefs and behaviours that guide the company
itself. “Culture eats strategy for breakfast”: the two
should feed on each other, and when everything is
focused on the latter, the former always comes out
victorious. Sharing values is fundamental in order
to increase the level of individual motivation, which
in turn is the engine that drives an individual to
perform a specific action. For motivation to grow, it
is necessary that the ultimate meaning of actions is
clear, and that individual efforts help create greater
value. Organisational culture must therefore be seen
as a dynamic learning process and as continuous
training aimed at maintaining consistency in daily
practice for the constitution of new habits.
Therefore, Health Promotion in the workplace
means that you want to promote, optimise, monitor
and above all maintain the physical, psychological
and social wellness of all workers at all levels. As it
works to benefit the community as well as itself, the
company therefore chooses, through the joint work of
managers, employees, doctors and the Local Health
Authorities, to encourage the adoption of certain
behaviours and positive healthy choices. This means
and assumes that society does not just implement all
of the measures to prevent accidents and illnesses,
but undertakes and works to reduce the risk factors
most involved in the genesis of chronic diseases. The
diseases of tomorrow will be increasingly linked to
lifestyles and consequently to factors that can mostly
be controlled by the individual.
Company climate can significantly influence the
lifestyle of its workers. People spend more than 1/3
of their time at work or at activities for their work.
Companies that offer opportunities and educational
initiatives to improve the welfare of their employees
also take positive steps from a collective standpoint.
The behaviours and values learned at work can in
fact act as a guide and positively influence family
and acquaintances. This way, Health Promotion
becomes a resource and a social investment. From a
practical standpoint, once we hear about employee
C. and identify the problems reported by employee
L., and we also take into account the point of view
of employee S., we can approve and start sharing
a plan and build it with the company and the Local
Health Authority, to encourage healthy behaviour
and to initiate change. For example, to name just a
few actions we can take, we can encourage physical
activity, a protective factor for health and to combat
sedentary lifestyles (an element of risk for many
pathologies). Or we can promote programmes that
help employees stop smoking. We can also support
healthy eating behaviours. Over time and with the
implementation of shared actions, the wellness of
employees will inevitably translate into positive results
for the company. They will see that if their individual
needs are met they will have greater motivation. To
quote employee S., they have “the desire to return the
favour”, which in this case is the company they work
for, with dedication and commitment.
