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TO BUSINESS, HEALTH, AND NATIONAL EDITORS:
Four Organizations Receive APA's Psychologically Healthy Workplace
Award
WASHINGTON, March, 5, 2014 /PRNewswire-USNewswire/ -- The American
Psychological Association will recognize seven employers for their
efforts to promote employee well-being and organizational performance
at its ninth annual Psychologically Healthy Workplace Awards in
Washington, D.C., on Saturday, March 8.
The four employers who will receive APA's Psychologically Healthy
Workplace Award (PHWA) are Tasty Catering (Illinois), Certified Angus
Beef (Ohio), St. Luke's (Minnesota) and the University of Southern
California.
These organizations reported an average turnover rate of just 7
percent in 2013 - significantly less than the national average of 38
percent, as estimated by the U.S. Department of Labor. Additionally,
only 15 percent of their employees say they intend to seek employment
elsewhere within the next year, compared to almost double that number
(27 percent) nationally.
More than six out of ten employees of the winning companies say their
employer promotes and supports a healthy lifestyle (66 percent) and
values work-life balance (67 percent) and employee recognition (61
percent). Emotional well-being also plays a central role in these
organizations, with around seven in ten employees reporting that the
organization provides adequate resources to address their mental
health needs (71 percent) and help them manage stress (69 percent),
compared to just 45 percent and 36 percent, respectively, in the
general working population. In the award-winning organizations, almost
three-quarters (74 percent) say they would recommend their
organization to others as a good place to work compared to just 57
percent in the U.S. workforce.
"Creating a healthy, high-performing organization requires more than
simply offering wellness activities or desirable benefits. Done well,
psychologically healthy workplace principles become ingrained in the
very norms, values and beliefs that are part of an organization's
culture," says David W. Ballard, PsyD, MBA, head of APA's Center for
Organizational Excellence. "Our 2014 award winners not only support
employee well-being, they also link their workplace practices to
strategic goals in a way that supports the organization's mission and
drives performance."
Tasty Catering will be recognized for its comprehensive programs
including its culture-based leadership model, financial transparency
and in-house training opportunities that include courses in business,
English, sales, food science and professional development. For Tasty
Catering, the benefits of such a culture go well beyond job
satisfaction. In addition to high staff morale, the company has seen
an increase in both sales and profits.
Certified Angus Beef stands out through its robust employee programs,
incentives and development opportunities. This has resulted in
employee referrals, high-quality applicants, a reduction in sick time
and low turnover rates. The company's wide-ranging wellness efforts
include bringing a clinical psychologist onsite monthly for stress
management sessions and confidential one-on-one appointments at no
cost to employees.
Minnesota-based hospital St. Luke's scores off the charts in employee
retention, job satisfaction, health and morale. Employees have an
active say in the policies that affect them and their patients through
participation in staff-run committees, self-managed work groups, and
problem-solving and continuous-improvement teams. These efforts have
led to a decline in the number of workplace injuries and worker's
compensation claims over time, despite an increase in the total number
of employees.
The University of Southern California's comprehensive employee
wellness program has reaped workplace benefits that include positive
impacts on productivity, absenteeism, morale, recruitment success and
turnover. Additionally, USC's Center for Work and Family Life serves
as a hub for integrated services designed to help faculty, staff and
their families find and preserve a healthy work-life balance.
In addition to the PHWA winners, three organizations will receive Best
Practices Honors for a single program or policy that contributes to a
psychologically healthy work environment and meets the unique needs of
the organization and its employees. The 2014 honorees are Beach Cities
Health District (California), Framework (Connecticut) and
Porter-Starke Services (Indiana).
The Psychologically Healthy Workplace Awards are designed to recognize
organizations for their efforts to foster employee well-being while
enhancing organizational performance. The program has both local- and
national-level components. APA's award program spans North America and
is designed to showcase the very best from among the winners
recognized by APA's affiliated state, provincial and territorial
psychological associations. Nominees are selected from a pool of
previous local winners and evaluated on their workplace practices in
the areas of employee involvement, health and safety, employee growth
and development, work-life balance and employee recognition.
Additional factors that are considered include employee attitudes and
opinions, the role of communication in the organization and the
benefits realized in terms of both employee health and organizational
performance. Awards are given to for-profit and not-for-profit
organizations as well as government, military and educational
institutions.
The Psychologically Healthy Workplace Program is a public education
initiative from APA's Center for Organizational Excellence. To learn
more about the award winners and how to create a work environment
where employees and organizations thrive, visit www.apaexcellence.org.
The American Psychological Association, in Washington, D.C., is the
largest scientific and professional organization representing
psychology in the United States. APA's membership includes more than
134,000 researchers, educators, clinicians, consultants and students.
Through its divisions in 54 subfields of psychology and affiliations
with 60 state, territorial and Canadian provincial associations, APA
works to advance the creation, communication and application of
psychological knowledge to benefit society and improve people's lives.
SOURCE American Psychological Association
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/CONTACT: American Psychological Association, Sophie Bethune (202) 336-6134 sbethune@apa.org; Luana Bossolo (202) 336-5899 lbossolo@apa.org
/Web Site: http://www.APAhelpcenter.org
CO: American Psychological Association
ST: District of Columbia
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