Loy Yang B made creating a healthy workplace a priority with the help of the Achievement Program.
Latrobe Valley’s Loy Yang B Power Station is using the Achievement Program to make sure their employees know they are valued. The company has over 150 employees working in the 1000 megawatt coal station, and has identified health and wellbeing as one of the most important ways to keep employees engaged and feeling supported.
The Achievement Program is helping put these values into action. Loy Yang B joined the program in 2015 and hit the ground running with an employee health and wellbeing survey. This consultation helped them prioritise and tackle physical activity and mental health and, most recently, to complete the alcohol and smoking benchmarks.
“We have made creating a smokefree workplace a priority for Loy Yang B” said General Manager Tony Hicks “That’s involved simple measures like including smokefree messages in employee newsletters, displaying Quit resources that encourage employees to quit, and making sure all functions are smokefree.”
Recent surveys have shown that the company has cut smoking rates down to just 2 per cent of their employees, which is a major milestone considering that the electricity industry has historically had smoking rates as high as 18.2 per cent.
The management team at Loy Yang B are extremely supportive of health and wellbeing programs. The company has a dedicated health and wellbeing coordinator who is responsible for devising a calendar of events based on the key issues identified in the employee survey, and they have also been supported by a health promotion officer at Latrobe Community Health Service.
Loy Yang B’s advice for businesses planning to create a healthier workplace is to use the Achievement Program’s whole-organisation framework when developing health and wellbeing initiatives:
- Ensure a holistic approach that includes both physical and mental health
- Involve everyone in the organisation through employee surveys and consultation
- Have strong leadership support to encourage employees to participate
- Engage with local health providers in your community to keep up to date with local health initiatives and resources
- Use the Achievement Program templates as a great starting point.
Show your staff they’re valued and create a healthy environment using the Achievement Program.
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