The European Network for Workplace Health Promotion

- Healthy employees in healthy organisations! – The European Network for Workplace Health Promotion (ENWHP) is an informal network of national occupational health and safety institutes, public health, health promotion and statutory social insurance institutions. In a joint effort, all members and partners aim to improve workplace health and well-being and to reduce the impact of work-related ill health on the European workforce. The network is committed to developing and promot-ing good workplace health practices. The ENWHP Secretariat is hosted by Prevent Foundation for sustainable work, located in Louvain (Belgium). For its activities in 2014, the Secretariat received funding under the 2nd Health Programme (2008-2013) of the European Union. Objectives According to its general mission and vision, the European Network for Workplace Health Promotion seeks to achieve two core objectives: 1. To significantly increase the number of European employees who work in enterprises and organisations committed to practices and policies for promoting health. 2. All ENWHP member countries should have access to supportive Workplace Health Promotion (WHP) infrastructures at national level. Work programme 2014 In order to achieve these objectives three types of activities are defined: 1) Network consolidation 2) Capacity building 3) Communications and relations Network consolidation includes the day-to-day activities of the network (coordination, financial administration, organisation of network meetings etc.), as well as following up and attending other EU initiatives on WHP – in order to give the network more visibility and increase the support of stakeholders. Capacity building concerns the activities of the 3 task forces (research, education / training, campaigning / dissemination) and the organisation of round tables. The task for-ces allow the network and, in particular, its members to develop more in-depth activities and exchange experiences on these topics. The round tables in the member states allow for the development of supportive WHP infrastructures at (national) level. Communications and relations deals with presswork, newsletters, website, PR product development, communication flow, etc. with at its core the promotion of activities by the network and the dissemination of instruments, tools, good practices and quality criteria developed by ENWHP during its initiatives. Evaluation The evaluation of the activities executed by the ENWHP under the work programme 2014 is two-fold and consists of a process and an effect evaluation. The effect evaluation encompasses both the impact and the outcome of the activities, as well as specific indicators related to the objectives of the work programme.

Dissemination activities Exploitation and dissemination of existing WHP knowledge is a main focus for the European Network for Workplace Health Promotion. Dissemination activities concern a) knowledge, tools and quality criteria developed by ENWHP as a network, b) news and initiatives by ENWHP members, and c) general WHP-related information (events, research, projects etc.) and target European enterprises in any economic branch as well as stakeholders at supra-enterprise level. The following communication and channels are used: website (www.enwhp.org), image brochure and flyer, newsletter, and since 2013 also Twitter (@ENWHP). At national level, the members use their own national network, press contacts and website to further disseminate (and translate) the info, key messages and knowledge spread by ENWHP as a network. The Secretariat, the members and the chairpersons of the network attended numerous seminars, conferences and events where they have increased the visibility of ENWHP and disseminated information on its activities and experiences. The events were also used for networking, to develop supportive infrastructures and to establish contacts with interes-ted organisations and/or stakeholders. Furthermore, the network has gained a strong foothold in enterprises through the exchange of good practices and by disseminating simple and easy-to-use tools. The ENWHP plays an important role in approaching enterprises (via the national and regional WHP forums) with guidance, knowledge and experience in implementation. This leads to a growing network of good workplace health practice companies. The dissemination activities in 2014 concentrated largely on the ENWHP’s 9th initiative (“Promoting Healthy Work for Employees with Chronic Illness”, PH Work, 2011-2013) or its closing conference (“Workplace Health Practices for Employees with Chronic Illness”, PH Work conference, 22-23 October 2013), but attention was also paid to disseminating knowledge and tools from previous initiatives. Outputs and outcomes The outputs of European Network for Workplace Health Promotion in 2013 include: up-dated webpages, e-newsletters, a standard presentation, multiple articles in magazines and other presswork, a network meeting, an interactive workshop, two round tables and a list of initiatives by the ENWHP members. The outcomes of the planned activities are an increased awareness of WHP among the various stakeholders (resulting in several new ENWHP members and partners), and strengthened collaboration among the ENWHP members, as well as an improved transfer of knowledge and experience (towards enterprises). Strategic relevance and contribution to the EU Health Programme The activities of the ENWHP concentrate on the promotion of the vision “healthy emplo-yees in healthy organisations” and on a better understanding of the global economic interest in the practice of workplace health promotion, since it contributes to creating a culture – both on company and on individual level – where empowerment processes are initiated (health responsibility among all actors). The network is committed to develop and promote good workplace health practice. This is possible through the established infrastructures for WHP in the Member States, giving the opportunity to facilitate cross-border exchange of information. These activities con-tribute strongly to the EU Health Programme “Together for Health”.

The ENWHP contributes in particular towards the achievement of the second objective “Promote Health”. The network mainly contributes to addressing health determinants in order to promote and improve physical and mental health by creating a supportive environment with the workplace as setting. The workplace offers an opportunity to educate employees about nutrition, physical activity, mental health, addiction-related determinants such as tobacco, alcohol, illegal drugs. The ENWHP activities play an important role in tackling health determinants among employees throughout Europe. Workplace health promotion, which is the core business of ENWHP, can especially have a positive contribution to the prevention of musculoskeletal disorders, mental health problems, nutrition-related and cardio-vascular problems. These problems and diseases cause a huge burden on companies and on society in general. All of this is possible because the ENWHP links organisations in public health to workplace health, and creates synergies in both fields. Conclusions The European Network for Workplace Health Promotion (ENWHP) envisaged two core objectives for 2014: 1) to provide the ENWHP member states with information, tools and supportive infrastructure enabling them to further develop a national network for WHP in their own country, and 2) to increase the number of employees working in organisations committed to practices and policies for promoting health. The ENWHP activities in the different member countries had a hand in obtaining the two objectives mentioned, and therefore also contributed to the goals of the European Union as written down in the Europe 2020 strategy on smart and inclusive growth. By empha-sising and advocating the principle of "healthy employees in healthy organisations", the ENWHP especially supports the "Agenda for New Skills and Jobs" highlighting the economic importance of a healthy workforce. Faced with an ageing population and an increasing percentage of workers suffering from health problems and chronic illnesses, there is a very good case for investing in workplace health, sustainable employment and an active workforce! This makes the activities of the network more crucial than ever, with a future focus on activating hard-to-reach target groups such as young employees, older workers, employees with a chronic illness, and those employed in small and medium-sized enterprises.