How do you get employees who are fit for work long-term?

When organisations talk about fitness for work, it is usually in the context of sickness and absenteeism. An employee who is fully fit for work is physically and mentally healthy and able to carry out their work. But you as an employer want more; you don't just want your employees to be healthy, you also want them to enjoy their work and to be able to carry on working as long as possible. And according to TNO an employee who is fit for work long-term is someone who will be able to and want to carry on working.

Whether someone is healthy and feels able to continue working depends on more than just their absences due to sickness. It is at least equally important that employees feel involved in their work, are able to adapt to changes and are able to handle setbacks in and around their work. Someone who is healthy but does not enjoy their work at all, will probably not just quietly carry on working until they receive their pension. Long-term fitness for work is therefore not just about physical and psychological health, but also about being motivated and competent.

• To enable employees to carry on working healthily for longer, it is important that the employees themselves – of course with support from you as a manager – work on this for themselves.
• Employees who are fit for work long-term will make sure that they:
• look after themselves by eating healthily and exercising;
• embrace life-long learning by continuing to keep abreast of developments in their area of expertise, learning new things, and following training courses or further education;
• do work that they find meaningful.

All this, taken together, ensures someone will enjoy their work. Which is important, because employees who enjoy their work have more energy, perform better and run less risk of dropping out due to work-related stress. They feel attached to their work and the organisation, are enthusiastic and loyal. The long-term fitness for work of these employees is at its peak.

Long-term fitness for work is something you work on jointly, because you as manager will also enjoy it: employees who are fit for work are lively, believe their work is meaningful and continue to grow. As a manager, you can help your employees to achieve this.

Obviously, you can only have limited influence on someone's lifestyle, but at work you can also pay attention to healthy eating and exercise. Lifelong learning is something that you can encourage and facilitate: in review meetings and through personal development plans (PDP) you can specifically address this at certain times. It is, of course, even better if you keep your finger on the pulse all the time, and regularly ask how someone is doing and whether they are still enjoying their work. If someone tells you that they have certain goals or wishes, then also ask what the employee can do for themselves to achieve them. This means you are handing back control to the employee and encouraging ownership, which generally leads to better results.