A Portland Staffing Agency Focuses on Total Worker Health

Portland, Ore. -- In honor of Safety Month, this week’s safety topic is Employee Wellness, or total worker health, so this staffing agency in Portland, OR would like to concentrate on where Franchisees have the most impact—franchise office employees.

“Research has shown that working conditions and other factors at work can play a role in the long-term health of employees. To date, studies have linked working conditions and certain industries and occupations to a number of health conditions including depression, obesity, heart disease, and type 2 diabetes. These illnesses can lead to work absences and early disability, and decreased individual lifetime earnings and productivity,” says the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention’s publication “Total Worker Health” in 2016.

The Basics
This agency states that the foundation to employee wellness is giving employees the resources to have a good diet, reliable housing, access to a physician at a reasonable cost, and paid time away from work to deal with personal issues without suffering a financial impact. The ability to handle these things leads to overall wellness and preventing employees from becoming unhappy, stressed, or sick.

In addition to benefits, they also stress respecting employees’ personal time. Consider if employees are actually getting enough time to have a healthy lunch. How often do employees have sleep or restful time at home interrupted due to work “emergencies.” Give employees the time to enjoy healthy food choices, relaxation between shifts, and good sleep. This includes structured scheduling of lunches, as well as “on-call” hours split between employees.

Staying Active
They strongly suggest to encourage employees to be active and take care of themselves. Poll the team to find out what would interest them, such as diet, exercise, or losing weight. Managers do not need to ask employees about their individual personal health, rather ask “If we were to set a healthier living goal as an office, what would be something that would interest everyone?” At the Express Office, they have two examples to share. One structured method involves employees recording and submitting qualifying activities in order to receive discounts on their own cost for healthcare. On the less structured side, they have also hosted voluntary “Biggest Loser” challenges that reward simply by the percentage of weight lost, not the pounds.

This temp agency in Portland, OR understands what impacts employees’ financial well-being, providing a pay and benefits package that reduces stresses, and working with employees to find fun yet structured ways to promote a healthy lifestyle will increase attendance, productivity, and even job satisfaction, all while engaging employees and increasing retention.

Express East Portland Managing Partner, Sara Moriarty said, “Here at Express, one of our main goals is to keep a healthy and safe environment for not only our employees but for the employees that we bring on for other businesses in the local area.”

Centers for Disease Control and Prevention has a website full of information and tools on total worker health. Also, remember to visit the Safety Month Page on MyDot for resources and information on working with clients to keep associates safe. For questions or more information about employee wellness, contact the Risk Department.

The Express East Portland office is located at 10011 SE Division St #102, Portland, OR 97266. Interested parties can call (503) 254-1200 or visit online at www.expresspros.com/EPortlandOR to learn more.