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A healthy workplace is everything. This has been highlighted by Covid-19. As the pandemic has described, if someone becomes infected with the virus, the entire operation can be at risk, ranging from a slowdown to a complete shutdown.
He emphasized that employers don’t just have to worry about the health of their businesses. Amidst hectic schedules and employee burnout, employers must consider the physical and mental health of their employees if their organization is to survive the virus.
While Covid-19 has taken a toll on both physical and mental well-being, the workplace is faring better when it comes to overall healthy environments. Still, the colder months ahead mean more time spent indoors, where the risk of airborne virus transmission is high.
Dr. Bruce Farber: ‘We’re at odds between us and the virus.’ Thanks to Northwell Health
“We’re at a crossroads between us and the virus,” said Dr. Bruce Farber, chief of public health and epidemiology at Northwell Health. “The virus is not going away, but we are living in it. The balance is tipped one way or another.
Dr. Sharon Nachman, an infectious disease specialist at Stony Brook Children’s Hospital, agrees.
“Fall and winter will test our patience,” she said.
And on that precipice, employers are now looking for ways to attract talent and keep them safe. To that end, healthy benefits and good science can go a long way.
Navigating the pandemic, for example, Radish Health, a city of Babylon with 400 full-time and 200 part-time employees, began working with a New York-based telehealth platform to provide primary care services to the municipality. Governments, including the city government in Smithtown and Brookhaven, as well as medium-sized businesses.
“I had to make sure the entire team was healthy to provide city services,” Babylon City Supervisor Rich Shaffer told LIBN.
“In [Hurricane] Sandy or another Mother Nature event, our people have to work around the clock, and then they’re “wiped out and exhausted,” he said. And at the start of Covid-19, Schaefer wanted to support staff to “put their best foot forward” as they “engage with the public,” especially during a public health crisis.
20180409.02 Sharon Nachman Pediatrics
Radish, Schaffer said the city helped to plan. That plan provided intensive follow-up for those who were ill to receive treatment quickly. And it has limited in-person gatherings of healthy and screened team members who are less likely to spread the virus.
Still, COVID-19 isn’t the only threat to human health, says Radish CEO Dr Viral Patel. “You can’t forget other things,” he said, referring to heart disease, cancer and more.
As the virus subsided, the city began to see the long-term benefits of working with Radish. Now, the program helps each employee find a care team with a doctor, dietitian and therapist, with support to get people in-network with additional resources if needed.
The city currently pays about $80,000 a year for the program. Shaffer said in July that he expects the program will help the city save costs, and that workers are now more energized and more productive, requiring less overtime.
“It shows that we care about workers,” Shaffer said of the program, adding that other sectors besides government would benefit from taking a similar approach.
Recognizing that team members need support, for example, Northwell Health opened a Traumatic Stress, Resilience and Recovery Center in 2021. The center provides grief counseling, training and additional services to employees and their families.
“Northwell is committed to supporting the overall well-being of our team members, helping them manage stress caused by COVID-19 and other factors,” said Maxine Carrington, senior vice president and chief human resources officer. The center is open.
Additionally, the healthcare provider is investing in professional development as team members to retain employees in a competitive hiring environment.
Rob Labinto directs the Babylon City Employees Fitness Department. Photo by Judy Walker
Meanwhile, the city of Babylon has contracted Rob Labinto, a personal trainer who promotes health and wellness, fitness and supplements through nutrition and counseling.
City officials’ integrated approach has improved employee health, reduced health care costs, increased productivity, and helped attract and retain top talent.
Since the program began, Babylon City Clerk Gerry Compitello said her 15 employees have lost a total of 100 pounds, and some have lowered their cholesterol and A1C levels, citing a blood test that detects type 2 diabetes and pre-diabetes.
And “more than half of my staff are talking to someone for mental health counseling,” she said, adding that “getting out of the epidemic” has helped reduce stress levels. Only one person has called in sick in the past two months, and “it was a common occurrence,” she said.
Shaffer’s focus on health and wellness has changed the culture at work. Now, colleagues talk about scheduling mammograms and colonoscopies, and share healthy recipes. “It created a whole different conversation,” he said.
City employees are also encouraged to take two hours a week of fitness classes, whether it’s strength and conditioning, yoga, mindfulness, walking or other activities. Motivated employees “are more productive,” Shafer said.
Even without additional perks and benefits, employers can protect the workplace by maintaining the protocols people have adopted to cope with the pandemic.
“Preventive things continue to work,” Nachman said, citing basics like washing hands and staying home when you’re sick.
Vaccines are “really good, but they’re not perfect,” she points out. “Remember that good is not the opposite of perfect.”
Still, with headlines about new strains, monkeypox, flu and now polio, it’s easy to say a mix of dry fear.
But Nachman said, “No! Chicken’s reaction is not a good use of our energy. no
Better to think about “how to stop this infection from growing,” she added.
That’s why employers must “strive to be an educated consumer,” she added. “Instead of listening to the echo chamber on social media, look for good sources of information.
Still, the colder months won’t be easy for employers to navigate, Farber warned.
“What is reasonable and unreasonable depends on where we go in the fall,” he said. “When the weather gets colder, the price goes up.”
And that’s when, he said, employers may find they “need to re-establish layoff policies.”
AGENN@LIBN.COM
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