Jog towards better employability
20 August 2007
Media Release
1 When companies decide to employ and re-employ workers, particularly older workers, their health status and fitness level are among the most important factors companies consider before employing them. Thus, it is vital that workers keep themselves healthy and fit in order to stay in employment or gain re-employment.
2 Companies, too, have an important role to play in ensuring that their workers remain healthy and as a result, be productive at the workplace. As workers spend a fair amount of time at the workplace, the latter is a good venue to mount health promotion activities to encourage them to adopt healthy and active living habits, and remain healthy and fit for life, especially for the older workers.
3 The National Trades Union Congress (NTUC) has earlier identified and embarked on five strategic initiatives[1] to enhance the re-employability of older workers. Additionally, NTUC has teamed up with the Health Promotion Board to develop the UHEALTH – Unions Helping Employees Achieve LifeTime Health – programme, to provide consultation and guidance to unionised companies in implementing the Workplace Health Promotion (WHP) programmes at the workplace to keep their staff healthy and fit. Please see ANNEX for more details.
4 The WHP programmes generally focus on three key thrusts with a focus on mature workers aged 40 and above. They are regular basic health screening to enable the company and individual employee to monitor their health-risk profile; intervention projects in four main areas of healthy living – nutrition, physical exercise, smoking cessation and emotional well-being; as well as chronic disease management.
5 So far, 90 of our unionised companies that have committed to re-employing older workers have some form of WHP programs available for their workers, benefiting about 10,500 mature workers.
6 The Singapore Safety Driving Centre (SSDC) is one such company that has worked together with the Singapore Industrial & Services Employees’ Union (SISEU), to hop on the UHEALTH programme with the main objective of improving the health and fitness of its staff, including driving instructors, and ultimately, enhance their employability as they aged. SSDC kicked off its participation in the UHEALTH programme at a Jog and Walk for Healthy Living event held this afternoon, whereby more than 50 staff affirmed their commitment to a healthy lifestyle by taking a jog at the SSDC workplace.
7 As part of the UHEALTH programme, SSDC has implemented a unique Keeping Fit Incentive, which encourages its staff to stay healthy through jogging or walking by paying them a token amount every time they jogged or walked. SSDC would pay staff up to $200 a year to jog or walk, so as to encourage them to exercise more regularly. They are also given Staff Recreation Subsidies to encourage them to take up sports and games activities, and stay active and fit. A Healthy Lifestyle Incentive is also at hand to entice staff to stay healthy, and thus, reduce the need to take medical leave. Please refer to ANNEX for more details.
8 Additionally, SSDC will also be providing regular basic health screenings for its staff. Health screening is important as it serves as a form of feedback for the staff on their health status – they can monitor their health risk factors and take steps to improve or maintain their health. While health screening is provided for workers by many companies, the take-up rate has never been one hundred per cent. NTUC hopes that workers will go for their health screenings whenever they are given the opportunity to do so.
9 Mr Saito Yoshihisa, Managing Director of SSDC, recognises the need for all his staff to stay healthy despite their hectic work schedules. He said at the Jog and Walk for Healthy Living event, “We would like to help all, particularly those above 40, to keep fit and stay healthy through the WHP programmes. Hopefully, they will bring away knowledge on keeping fit and staying healthy and share them with their family members and friends as well.”
10 Mrs Josephine Teo, Executive Secretary of SISEU added, “Many Singaporeans want to continue working past 62, as long as they are in good health. This is why SISEU actively promotes initiatives by employers to help their staff take better care of health. It is a win-win approach because healthy employees are also more productive."
11 In conclusion, NTUC hopes that more companies will take on the UHEALTH programme so as to enhance the health and fitness of their workers, and consequently, their employability. NTUC also urges workers to take individual responsibility in keeping themselves fit and healthy, so that they can remain employable beyond the retirement age and can lead a meaningful life in good health.
Mr Yeo Guat Kwang
Director
Quality Worklife Department
National Trades Union Congress
*****
[1] NTUC’s five strategic initiatives to enhance the re-employability of older workers: (a) improve companies’ policies on re-employment of older workers; (b) redesign jobs and workplaces to make them friendly to older workers; (c) adopt age neutral wage structure; (d) train and upgrade skills of older workers for new job roles; and (e) help older workers stay fit and healthy.
Annex
INFORMATION ON UNIONS HELPING EMPLOYEES ACHIEVE LIFETIME HEALTH (UHEALTH)
Description
1 UHEALTH is a WHP program that NTUC will be bringing specially for unionised companies. The objectives of UHEALTH are as follows:
- Help unionised companies to implement WHP programs to ensure their workers remain healthy and fit, therefore increasing their productivity at work
- Help workers to know about their health risk factors and empower them to make the right decisions in keeping themselves healthy and fit, thus remaining employable
2 With UHEALTH, companies will be given consultation and guidance by NTUC and the Health Promotion Board (HPB) in implementing a WHP program. Companies will also be given special rates in implementing some components of the WHP program.
3 UHEALTH will work as follows:
4 NTUC, HPB, NTUC Healthcare and our selected service providers will work together with the companies to implement WHP programs step by step. While generic WHP programs will still be rolled out, our focus will be on implementing programs for the older workers.
5 The components of a WHP program that will be suggested to companies could include the following:
i. Basic Health Screening
Companies will get to enjoy a special rate of $5 per employee for the screening, provided by NTUC Healthcare, which consists of the following:
- total cholesterol
- tryglycerides
- HDL, LDL (good cholesterol, bad cholesterol)
- Cholesterol / HDL ratio
- Glucose test (a free HbA1C test will be given when fasting blood glucose test result is above 7.0mmol/L)
- Blood pressure measurement
- Body mass index
ii. Some Suggested Interventions
- Cholesterol Reduction Program
- Healthy Canteen Program
- Smoking Cessation Program
- Chronic Disease Management
iii. Other Related Programs
- Vision Care Program
- Back Care Program
- Stress Management Program
Funding
6 Companies taking up UHEALTH will be given assistance to apply for the Workplace Health & Sports Promotion (WHSP) Grant, a financial support scheme provided by HPB and the Singapore Sports Council. The maximum grant is $10,000. This is a co-funding grant, and the company must co-fund the project by contributing an equal or higher amount.
Interested?
7 Companies who wish to embark on UHEALTH can contact their unions directly to indicate their interest, and arrange for follow-up. Alternatively, you can call NTUC Quality Worklife Department at:
Tel: 6213 8284/8283 (Rozy / Celia)
Email: QWD@ntuc.org.sg
*****
INFORMATION ON SINGAPORE SAFETY DRIVING CENTRE’S HEALTH BENEFITS FOR STAFF
1 The following health benefits offered by Singapore Safety Driving Centre (SSDC) for its staff serve to encourage them to keep healthy by exercising on a regular basis, i.e., every Monday to Friday; between 3.20 pm to 7.00 pm; at least once a month; 52 and times within a 12-month period.
Keeping Fit Incentive
2 Staff are paid a Keeping Fit Incentive of up to $200 to jog/walk in order to encourage them to exercise regularly. In addition, SSDC is introducing a Partnership Scheme to the Keeping-Fit Incentive – an additional $200 incentive to regular joggers for each new non-regular jogger recruited to take up jogging / walking on a regular basis (at least once a month, 52 times within a 12-month period).
Staff Recreation Subsidy
3 The Staff Recreation Subsidy is meant to encourage staff to take up sports/games activities; and keep themselves fit and healthy, for example, to pay for entrance fees to swimming complex and the gym. The subsidy is capped at $120 per year.
Healthy Lifestyle Incentive
4 The Healthy Lifestyle Incentive encourages staff to take care of their health – reduce the need to take medical leave by enticing them with payment of up to $700 if no medical leave is taken. This benefit is included in the current Collective Agreement with the union.
Statistics
Total SSDC manpower as at 17 August 2007 is 301:
a) Male – 273 (91%)
b) Female – 28 (9%)
Age category of SSDC manpower:
a) 55 & above – 18 (6%)
b) 45 to 54 – 87 (29%)
c) Below 45 – 196 (65%)
Number of staff benefiting from SSDC’s health benefits so far:
a) No. of regular joggers – 25
b) No. of regular joggers aged 40 and above – 23
c) No. of staff who uses the Staff Recreation Subsidy regularly – 8
d) No. of those from (c) who are aged 40 and above – 7
*****
INFORMATION ON OTHER COMPANIES THAT HAVE EMBARKED ON WORKPLACE HEALTH PROMOTION PROGRAMME
SBS Transit
SBS Transit's Workplace Health Promotion programme operates on a framework that addresses our employees' health in three major aspects:
a) Physical wellness
b) Emotional wellness
c) Nutritional wellness
SBS Transit has a workforce of more than 7,000 employees, employed under four key locations in Singapore. Those aged above 40 make up approximately 64% of the workforce. Their existing retirement ages are 62 and 65. To reach out to their employees, they have a WHP Committee that comprises members from major units of the company, and union representatives from the National Transport Workers’ Union, which operates on a 2-yearly term.
Publicity and peer encouragement have helped SBS Transit attain an average of 80% participation rate for their WHP activities. One of their major events is the Cross-country cum Leisure Walk, for which the participation rate has increased from 250 in 2005 to about 400 in 2006. Another key ingredient for the success of their WHP programmes is the level of support and participation from senior management. Management staff joined their events not just as VIPs, but as participants and facilitators. Union representatives also play a major role too. They help to reach out to many employees whose work nature is not office-based. Their presence, support and participation at their events have also strengthened the management-union relations, truly a positive by-product of the WHP programme.
SBS Transit believes it is important to educate employees and create awareness in specific health topics. They arrange for health talks on subjects like cancer, nutrition, stress management etc. Health screening sessions are organised annually so that employees are better aware of their health status and thus, know what they have pay to attention to in their lifestyle (e.g., to reduce salt intake). In addition, they also distribute fruits from time to time to spread nutritional information on fruits and remind staff of their importance in their diet.
The types of physical activities organised for a typical year e.g. taichi, yoga, pilates, bowling, badminton, basketball and cross-country, are planned bearing the profile of our employees in mind. Our more matured employees tend to participate in programmes that are not overly demanding, and which are suitable to their profiles. However, they still see participation from their mature employees in more exerting activities like the cross-country event. At the last Cross-country, more than mature workers participated as competitive runners. Better still, the top male runner was actually one of their more matured participants, beating younger competitors.
Their activities are also planned with a view to address specific health issues. For example, a smoking cessation programme was conducted for Bus Captains who needed assistance to quit smoking. 48 employees signed up for the programme.
NOK Asia
NOK Asia has a workforce of about 300 workers. The company has embarked on UHEALTH with a series of activities aimed at getting workers to keep themselves healthy and fit. These include talks on nutrition and weight management, as well as fitness sessions like yoga and pilates. Workers go through a basic health screening, where their BMI, blood pressure, fasting venous blood glucose and full venous fasting lipid profile will be measured. With their health screening results, workers would then know their health risk factors and be empowered to make the right decisions in keeping themselves healthy and fit, thus remaining employable.
Under UHEALTH, NOK’s canteen will also go through a healthy overhaul with the Workplace Canteen Programme. The canteen vendors will be equipped with necessary knowledge and skills on nutrition and healthier culinary techniques, so that they will provide healthier food choices in the canteen.
NTUC Club
NTUC Club has a workforce of about 380 staff. Part of their UHEALTH programs include a weight management program, a smoking cessation program, and stress management. The company has already conducted a basic health screening for its workers.
NTUC Club releases its staff an hour earlier every Friday so that they could participate in a sports activity like cycling and rollerblading. They even have an enthusiastic mature worker who leads a brisk walking group every week. Fitness sessions such as low-impact aerobics and brisk walking sessions at Pasir Ris Park will be conducted to get more of its staff involved.
Hewlett Packard
With a workforce size of over 6,000 employees with 20% of whom are above 40 years old and some over 62, the welfare and well-being of staff is part of its corporate culture. The company has a comprehensive listing of health and wellness programmes for their staff including sports and recreational activities such as kickboxing, latino jam, pilates, step aerobics, pyogilates, yoga, swimming and family-focused sporting events such as a pool party and cross-country running.
There are also healthy eating campaigns, parenting talks, wellness talks and personal development programmes offering free annual health screenings, free health talks, head/neck/shoulder massage by the visually impaired and smoking cessation programmes.
*****
