Workplace Services

October is Healthy Workplace Month!

Workplace Health and Wellness

Many workplaces recognize the benefits associated with healthy employees and provide a variety of health and wellness initiatives focusing on exercise, diet, smoking and stress management. As worthwhile as these initiatives are, little, if any, attention is paid to a very common symptom – tired employees.

Perhaps you’ve done workplace health assessments and employee health assessments. Do these assessments include any information about sleep?

Some assessments do ask about sleep and have found that many employees raise concerns about sleep and sleep and stress. However, few, if any initiatives have been undertaken to address this employee health concern.

Here’s what you can do to help your employees sleep better so that they are healthy and alert at work.

1. Offer presentations about sleep, sleep disorders, mental health and stress. (If your workplace requires shiftwork, see the presentations and resources available at www.alertatwork.com.)

2. Implement sleep disorder screening for all employees.

3. Implement sleep apnea screening for employees at risk.

4. Request return-to-work assessments for shiftworker or those who are on leave because of stress/depression.

5. Learn how to carry-out these assessments as part of your return-to-work procedures.

Note: If you are in the transportation or nuclear industries, sleep disorder screening and fatigue management are required for compliance with industry and government regulations. In addition to the above presentations, see www.alertatwork.com for the presentation “PowerUP” – strategies to promote alertness at work.

Associated Sleep Services

(306) 975-1165