Health promotion -- a sound investment.

Health promotion in the workplace aims to help healthier practices and behavior at work become easier and more rewarding for all. Better health promotion is needed in the workplace in Germany. For example 574 million working days were lost in 1994 through illness and accidents; chronic diseases play a role in keeping two-thirds of employees from working until a pensionable age; 1775132 accidents were reported in 1989 leading to economic losses of DM 43200 million; and the proportion of elderly people relative to the total population will increase sharply. Under a corporate policy designed to promote health workers in-house health experts management and members of the Works Council should design working conditions conducive to health and which encourage the workforce to adopt healthy working practices and lifestyles. Health promotion must be examined in terms of its cost-benefit and cost-effectiveness with regard to both the companys health and its operating objectives. The author discusses the measurement of benefits and the aims and elements of health promotion then describes a health promotion initiative in Hamburg.