Health Circles is a structured process in which employees hold facilitated meetings over a course of time to identify what’s holding their health back and what can be done to improve it – with an emphasis on job design and the psychosocial health risks at the workplace.
This excerpt from a webinar (hosted by Lumity) describes a multi-year, controlled study of hospital nurses and aides at a hospital in Canada. They used an intervention based on Health Circles. Three years later, the caregivers in the health circles group reported
- improved demands, autonomy, social support
- improvement in work quality,
- less burnout
- fewer sleep disorders
- less psychological distress (symptoms of depression, anxiety, burnout, aggressiveness, and cognitive problems).
A control group got worse on most of the health measures.
- Read the scientific review that found “health circles have a favorable effect on workers’ health, well-being, and sickness absence.”
- Read a brief summary of the Health Circles process from Europe’s PRIMA-EF Consortium.
About The Author: Bob Merberg
Bob Merberg, Principal Consultant of Jozito LLC, has 20+ years of experience leading employee wellbeing strategies and now channels his knowledge and experience to help employers bolster employee wellness and organizational outcomes. He recently introduced Mental Health First Aid Training into his practice to help employers address the burgeoning employee mental health crisis.
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