We continue to make significant investment in providing a wide range of health and wellbeing improvement programmes throughout the Company, focused on encouraging and empowering employees to take personal responsibility. Programmes vary according to health risk profile, function and culture, and include general health initiatives aimed at increasing exercise levels, reducing smoking, improving nutrition and managing stress. We also encourage and support a healthy work/life balance, including flexible working opportunities.
In addition, we provide programmes focused on specific disease areas such as cancer, cardiovascular disease and influenza. We have plans in place to deal with the potential threat of pandemic flu, including the provision of anti-virals for employees based in areas where adequate supplies may not be available through national treatment regimes.
AstraZeneca operates in an increasingly challenging business environment, within which it is all the more important that the health and wellbeing of our employees is safeguarded. In our ongoing efforts to tackle work-related stress, currently our greatest single cause of occupational illness, we are adopting an increasingly proactive, risk-based approach, using wellbeing risk assessment tools to identify high risk areas and target interventions more effectively.
We are working to improve collaboration between SHE, HR, line managers and employees to increase the effectiveness of our approach and, with an increasing body of evidence suggesting direct associations between health and productivity, promoting good health will continue to be a core priority as we drive our business forward.
During 2007, we made available on our global intranet a resource specifically designed to help individuals and teams to understand the process of business change and manage it successfully. We are also in the process of developing, in collaboration with Lancaster University, a Global Wellbeing Diagnostic Indicator for evaluating organisational and personal wellbeing that will be made available during 2008.
Also in 2007, AstraZeneca in the US launched their “Get HIP” (Health Incentive Programme), which encourages and recognises employees who actively promote their individual wellbeing. There are various on-line health improvement programmes available including “Fitness for Everybody”, “Stress Solution” and "Walk to Wellness”, as well as on-site ‘lunch-‘n-learns’, cholesterol screenings and use of fitness centres. Staff gain reward points by taking part in these activities and accumulated points can then be exchanged for prizes.
In the UK, AstraZeneca won the 2007 Business in the Community Healthy Workplaces Award for our approach to promoting the health and wellbeing of employees. The award recognises companies and individuals for integrating responsible business practice into their mainstream operations, resulting in a positive impact in the marketplace, environment, community and workplace.
During 2007, there were 121 cases of occupational illness reported, with the frequency rate per million hours worked showing an increase of 3% on the previous year. 81% of all illnesses reported resulted in days lost from work.
Work-related stress illness was the most frequently reported condition, accounting for 56% of all cases. Interpersonal relationship difficulties were the most common reason given, with high workload and difficulties coping with change also important causative factors. 97% of the stress cases resulted in absence from work.
Although work-related upper limb disorder was the second most frequently reported illness, accounting for 26% of all cases, it is encouraging that the frequency rate for this condition continues to follow a downward trend. Computer work and repetitive production activities were the main causes of this condition.
| 2007 | 2006 | 2005 |
|---|
Cases of occupational illness
(per million hrs) | 0.99 | 0.97 | 1.34 |
The promotion of good ergonomic practices within the business remains an important element in our strategy to reduce work-related musculoskeletal problems and the associated losses in productivity.
Repetitive production activities such as packing, and work with computers are the two highest risk areas for work-related upper limb disorders within the Company. We have a range of materials including ergonomic guides, e-learning packages and good practice examples that are made easily available to all managers and staff to promote and maintain good ergonomic practice across the organisation. During 2007 we launched a new e-learning tool and guidance on packing work and a similar guide on office and computer work is due for launch in 2008. These materials also support project managers and risk assessors in the integration of ergonomic considerations into the design of new assets.
Risk management of hazards in the workplace covers all biological, physical and chemical hazards. Control of exposure to this spectrum of hazards typically requires a combination of solutions including the appropriate application of engineering options and the infrastructure to support their use (commonly referred to as “containment”). We have a team of industrial hygiene and engineering professionals who advise the business on how to achieve the required goals and ensure that the needs of multiple business drivers are met. The application of a multidisciplinary approach to decision making is the key to success.
We are currently participating in a task force with representatives from other pharmaceutical companies and regulators from North America, Japan and Europe to develop guidance, due to be published in 2008, on a consistent, science based approach to making decisions on controlling exposure and sourcing products. We also have a number of internal initiatives to encourage the use of this risk-based approach, in particular with our Global External Sourcing and Licensing functions, given the increasing industry trend to “outsource” and the related increase in the number of industrial hygiene issues raised. Discussions are ongoing regarding the potential development of a tool that Global External Sourcing can use to help support external suppliers in addressing these issues.
In the workplace the potential routes of exposure are via inhalation, skin, mucous membranes, and ingestion, and traditionally the main focus in industry has been on control of exposure via the inhalation route. However, other exposure routes are also potentially significant and therefore we are developing strategies to manage workplace exposure risks more holistically. For example, in addition to inhalation, our current focus is on skin as a potential route of exposure. This includes the identification of options to improve the prediction of hazards most likely to pose a skin exposure risk, and looking at ways to effectively manage these risks in the design of engineering controls and adoption of best practice work procedures. In addition we have initiated a programme to work with the Global Engineering function to develop and deliver training to help further integrate industrial hygiene principles into the design of new, and retrofit of existing, containment solutions.
The content of this page was externally assured by Bureau Veritas, February 2008
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