What Does Health Really Mean In ‘Health & Safety’?
A common value included in the list of many corporate values is ‘Health and Safety’. This is particularly prevalent at companies within the energy and oil & gas industries.
But why is the value of Health combined with the value of Safety?
In my research of Fortune 500 companies, I did not find one occurrence of a company that listed Health as a separate value from Safety. When a company values Health and Safety, they put them together.
Granted, many companies list Safety as a distinct core value. But when Health is added, these two values are always combined.
Company Examples
Consider the following company examples.
- DTE Energy: We put the health and safety of people first… and know this responsibility rests with each of us.
- DuPont: Safety and Health – We share a personal and professional commitment to protecting the safety and health of our employees, our contractors, our customers and the people of the communities in which we operate.
- Halliburton: Health, Safety, and Environmental Leadership.
- Holly Frontier: Health & Safety – We put health and safety first. We conduct our business with primary emphasis on the health and safety of our employees, contractors and neighboring communities. We continuously strive to raise the bar, guided by our health and safety performance standards.
- Marathon Petroleum: Health and Safety – We have the highest regard for the health and safety of our employees, contractors and neighboring communities.
- Tenneco: Health & Safety – Committed to a healthy and safe work environment for all employees.
Based on these descriptions, it appears Health is simply viewed as an element of Safety. I imagine all the metrics surrounding this value focus on the number of workplace accidents. There’s no real substance to the value of Health. It appears to be simply tacked on to make the value sound bigger and better than it really is.
A true focus on Health is about employees. They are the ones smart leaders invest in for the long-term success of the company.
Reframing the Value of Health
As a differentiating value, Health means free from infirmity or disease; a state of wellbeing. (Note: there is no reference to safety here.)
If a company wants to embrace Health as a core value, it needs to consider all of the elements that it can contribute to enhance the overall wellbeing of their employees, and help them be free from various infirmities and/or diseases.
Common components considered in today’s company Health Programs (also called “Wellness Programs”) include:
- Health Assessments – identifying personal risk factors
- Health Education – increasing awareness of healthier life choices
- Health Coaching – helping individuals change behaviors to healthier choices
- Interventions – addressing specific unhealthy behaviors
Such Health Programs might also include specific incentives (e.g. financial) for employees to eat better, exercise more, and/or save for retirement. But such incentives are not necessary to get started. What matters most is a commitment from the company’s leadership in preserving and enhancing the overall state of wellbeing of their employees.
Of course, many companies today already have solid Health and Wellness Programs. But for these companies it begs the question:
Why don’t they include Health as a differentiating value?
To me, it feels like a missed opportunity to differentiate their corporate brand. If a company is already making a serious and significant investment in the health and wellbeing of their employees, why wouldn’t they identify this as a competitive advantage?
What do you think?
Do you see Health as a missed opportunity for companies to differentiate themselves?
