I've recently retired from a Federal Govt Agency that is concerned with staff welfare. All staff have ergonomic chairs (standard & special chairs as needed), regular assessment of desks & setup by trained staff & occupational therapists, regular eye & hearing tests, wrist rests, paperwork holders, etc, training courses, warning signs around machinery, etc & a Healthy Life Team.

Staff volunteer to join the team & meet in work hours with full management support (time & money). Extra money is raised by raffles (eg. Valentines Day, Easter, etc) of different things, eg. fruit baskets, seasonal stuff, champagne, choccies, gift vouchers ...

Regular activities include lunchtime walks, *healthy morning teas for different reasons (eg. Salvos Red Shield appeal, **Bad Taste Tie Day), talks by health organisations (Cancer Council, Nutritionist, Drug & Alcohol, Mental Health, Ageing etc) & Information fairs (healthy morning tea, & leaflets/representatives from health organisations)

Staff pay a few dollars towards the morning teas, and a bit extra (+ any donations) for the charity teas.

The organisation also funds a confidential Employee Counselling Service, available 24/7 for staff & dependents.

Yet with all this, a confidential Staff Survey a few years back showed a major concern of employees was bullying by colleagues/bosses. So now the agency has compulsory training courses to identify & stop bullying, Harassment Officers in all offices & a heavy emphasis on proper management of staff.

sandra

* Healthy Morning tea - no fried stuff, no excessively sweet stuff, or gooey cakes etc. Fruit - fresh & dried, nuts, dip, tomatoes, celery, carrots etc, crackers, scones, jam & cream, fruit juice, water & tea/coffee

** Bad Taste Tie is held on the birthdate of a long dead Director famed for his appalling taste in ties. While he was working staff wore similar ties on his birthday & he never noticed! 2 current staff members with almost equal taste judge & a great time is had by all. Some folks wear real ties, other create masterpieces. Categories include Red or Green blindness, Tie worn in Public and there are awards for males & females.

My colleague Murray won with a last minute entry one year - he used a piece of very elegant floral embossed toilet paper, properly knotted & tucked under his collar & torn into points at each end.

I won last year without even entering! I was wearing a pirate-style shirt with a laced neckline & the eagle-eyed judges noticed it, so I got the Wearing-tie-to-work award as no-one could prove they had worn their tie into the office!