In 1970, Congress created the Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA), which is an organization that creates and enforces workplace standards in an effort to foster a safe environment for workers in the United States. Employee health screening has increasingly become a part of their purview. The organization’s efforts have significantly benefited America’s workforce through reduced injury, illness, and death.
Employee health screening is one of the many standards that OSHA has set forth. The term “employee health screening” or “employee health checks” continues to evolve over time and can encompass pre-hire health screens, mental health checks for current employees, general wellness checks, COVID-19 screening, and more. While safety and wellness has been a priority in the US workforce for several decades, the COVID-19 pandemic has contributed to the ever changing nature of how safety is defined in the workplace.
How Has Employee Health Screening Evolved?
For the average person, one-third of their life is spent at work, which adds up to 90,000 hours. Not only should work be a safe place to be without unnecessary hazards, but it should also be a place that promotes its employees’ health and overall well-being.
Employee Health & COVID-19
OSHA was created in response to rising injury and death in the workplace. According to the United States Department of Labor, “Disabling injuries increased 20 percent during the decade, and 14,000 workers were dying on the job each year.”
Over the last 50+ years, OSHA has evolved according to the needs of the time. In the past, workplace safety often referred to occupational health hazards or slip and falls. OSHA initially focused on high-hazard industries while creating regulations that limited toxic substances and performed inspections to avoid catastrophic incidents. However, the definition of employee wellness has broadened over time and especially after COVID-19. Now, OSHA has set forth requirements and guidelines related to COVID-19 in the workplace. Employee health screening might also include:
- Tracking COVID-19 cases
- Reporting on those cases to department managers
- Performing contact tracing
- Tracking sick time due to COVID-19
Mental Wellness in the Workplace
Beyond the physical impacts of COVID-19, the pandemic has also heightened the awareness of mental health issues and how important it is to safeguard employees’ mental wellness.
According to the Center for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), “Mental health disorders are among the most burdensome health concerns in the United States.” The CDC reports that “1 in 5 US adults…reported any mental illness in 2016” and “71% of adults reported at least one symptom of stress, such as a headache or feeling overwhelmed or anxious.”
Over the last several years, OSHA has continued to expand its role to improve mental health in the workplace, including suicide prevention. The organization states that “While there are many things in life that induce stress, work can be one of those factors. However, workplaces can also be a key place for resources, solutions, and activities designed to improve our mental health and well-being.”
What is an Employee Health Check Platform?
While the health and wellness of employees benefit both the employee and the organization, it is vital for employers to be proactive in maintaining a healthy and safe working environment. Overall, effective health screening can provide peace of mind, prevent unnecessary illness or conflict, and ultimately save an organization financially on the costs of these issues.
An Employee Health Check Platform is a tool that organizations can use to ensure the health and safety of its employees on a variety of levels. Monitoring the health of employees in the workplace is essential to maintaining a safe working environment. A comprehensive Employee Health Check Platform might include the following:
- Safety Alerts – Safety alerts include technology that monitors active threats while having an effective process in place to lockdown an office, manage the event, and communicate with everyone involved.
- Health Screening – Health screening will focus on determining the physical wellness of employees and their behavioral health. It could also include the ability to screen guests. Workers compensation screening can also be included in this.
- Vaccine Verification – For organizations that want to track the vaccination status and COVID-19 testing of its employees, an Employee Health Check Platform will include a system that verifies and organizes its employees’ vaccine cards while tracking COVID-19 tests and symptoms.
- Assessments & Training – This aspect of the platform would include active threat training, first-aid and trauma preparedness, workplace violence prevention, training on how to de-escalate a situation, as well as training programs customized for the individual workplace.
Furthermore, a successful Employee Health Check Platform should exhibit several key features including:
- Secure
- Verified
- Flexible
- Universal
- Visible
- QR Code Enabled
- Automated
- Easy to Implement
Need an Employee Health Check Platform for Your Organization?
An Employee Health Check Platform is relevant now more than ever before. Health and safety threats can bring an organization to ruin. Does your organization utilize an Employee Health Check Platform? If you are considering it, WellCheck has created the only all-in-one critical event management and employee health verification platform. Our Employee Health Check Platform was created with the safety of workplaces in mind. In fact, we are backed by more than 30 years of enterprise compliance technology and safety experience.
Don’t take our word for it. Greg Dodson, Sr. Director of Operational Risk & Strategy at Coca-Cola Consolidated, Inc. said,
“We implemented WellCheck to begin obtaining vaccination status on all of our teammates. Working with WellCheck couldn’t have been easier – from conception to our final execution and rollout. The team was extremely attentive, responsive, and always open to feedback. WellCheck is simple to use, reliable, and secure, which is why we partnered with WellCheck for this project. We are very satisfied on the final product and look forward to partnering with WellCheck on future projects.”
If you want to understand more about the safety needs of your organization, take WellCheck’s Safety Preparedness Quiz to see how prepared you are.
You can also schedule a demo of the WellCheck Platform and discuss your options with a Solutions Specialist.
Don’t wait any longer when it comes to the wellbeing of your employees. Get started with an Employee Health Check Platform today!
