THE saying "health is wealth" may be cliched, but more companies in Singapore are realising that it does pay off.

As more than 60 per cent of a working adult's time is spent in the office, employers see the need and value in keeping their workers fit and healthy.

According to a 2002 report by the BBC, workplace illnesses in Northern Ireland alone cost 500 million pounds a year. Besides this, it said that as many as 1,000 people were absent from work daily through problems caused or made worse by their jobs.

Given such statistics, it is little wonder that workplace health programmmes can contribute positively to the bottom-line of companies.

Where they work, such initiatives can help in reducing absenteeism, possibly boost employee productivity, and - in some cases - build esprit-de-corps among staff.

Recognition for efforts

In Singapore, the Health Promotion Board (HPB) does its part to encourage the blossoming of workplace health initiatives.

Beginning in 2001, it started handing out Singapore HEALTH (Helping Employees Achieve Life-Time Health) Awards to recognise companies that had commendable workplace health programmes in place to help their employees lead healthy lifestyles.

Realising the importance of getting buy-in from senior company management, the HPB also created a HEALTH Leader Award category to commend CEOs or senior executives who exhibited strong leadership and support for the workplace health programmes in their organisations.

Since then, the list of companies hopping onto the Singapore HEALTH Award bandwagon has grown and now comprises a mix of both multinational companies (MNC) and local small and medium enterprises (SME).

Taking this effort one step further, HPB also launched a peer support programme for workplace health facilitators in 2006. Aptly named ClubHealth, the programme admits only workplace health facilitators whose organizations were recipients of the Singapore HEALTH Award in 2005 and 2006.

With about 840 members joining since its inception, ClubHealth is turning out to be just what the HPB wanted it to be - a platform for peer networking and sharing of best practices.

Success stories

While receiving an award may be icing on the cake for companies that establish successful workplace health programmes, many do not start out with this objective in mind.

For banking giant HSBC, it was part of corporate strategy.

A healthy and happy employee is more productive, says Ms Stella Wong, HSBC's Head of Human Resources.

In order to create a great place for staff to work at, HSBC began a workplace health programme in 2005. When conceptualising the initiative, its aim was to help employees improve their quality of life both within and outside the workplace.

Under its programme called "Enjoy It, Live It" - to increase top-of-the-mind recollection among employees and foster an identity for the initiative, bank employees get a chance to try out new sports such as Pilates and kickboxing. Also, it has seen an increase in the number of staff taking part in the bank's sports club activities.

Besides physical activity, HSBC regularly organises lunchtime health talks, health screenings, as well as a monthly healthy food treat for all staff.

Explaining the significance of its workplace health programme, HSBC's Head of Human Resources, Ms Stella Wong, says : "We strongly believe that helping our employees to improve their quality of life brings about business benefits, as a healthy and happy employee is more productive.

"This helps us to drive our business strategy in a more strategic and focused way. We will continue to push forward in helping our colleagues achieve a better work-life balance as well as enhance their overall well-being."

Over at semiconductor manufacturer STMicroeletronics, ensuring that its employees are thoroughly educated on the benefits of proper nutrition is high on its list of workplace health initiatives.

Going by the motto of "eat well to live well", the company-wide nutrition programme forms the thrust of its workplace health drive.

STMicroeletronics believes eating well begets healthy staff.

Through this, employees are provided with nutritious and well-balanced meals. Working closely with the staff cafeteria, the company ensures that all meals are nutritionally balanced. In fact, it goes to the extent of colour coding the menus in the cafeteria so that employees can easily distinguish the healthy foods and make the healthier choice.

Thus far, the company's efforts are paying off. A survey of the programme's effectiveness by the company revealed that the intake of fruits and vegetables by its staff had increased.

Its achievement has not gone unnoticed too, as it was one of the winners in the Nutrition Awards category of the Singapore HEALTH Awards 2006.

Meanwhile, technology bigwig Hewlett-Packard (HP) Singapore cited its global health and wellness strategy as one of the key factors in upping employee productivity and improving the general health of its employees, on top of helping it haul in two awards in Fitness and Nutrition at the Singapore HEALTH Awards.

Reaffirming this, the company's Managing Director for South-east Asia, Mr Tan Lee Chew noted : "Employee health is one of the fundamental things HP commits to."

For 2003 to 2005, HP reported that the average number of medical leave taken per employee fell from 1.92 days to 1.66 days.

The company's wellness programme also helped contribute to savings in outpatient medical costs incurred by its staff. Over the same two-year period, there was a 16 per cent reduction in such costs.

HP's comprehensive wellness programme covers both fitness and nutrition for its employees. Sports activities on offer run the gamut from the usual fare like soccer and cross-country running to new-fangled and exotic exercise such as belly dancing and Latino jam.

Fitness instructors are also engaged to provide free consultations to staff on matters like weight management and personal training.

Like ST Microeletronics, HP not only works with its staff cafeteria to provide healthy meals, but runs free healthy cooking classes for employees to pick up the finer points of eating right.

The last word

Ultimately, the success of any workplace health programme depends on the level of support and participation by staff.

To this end, it should be noted that inculcating the right attitude and mindset towards healthy living is key in gaining employee buy-in for workplace health programmes.

More than incentives, it is the message that a healthy worker is not just an asset to the company - but a happy individual - that convinces the employee to take the initial step in signing up for any company-organised wellness programme.

cheekoon@sph.com.sg