A healthy workplace means a lot more than just having healthy employees.
That鈥檚 the message that Graham Lowe鈥攕ociologist, author and expert on work and organizations鈥攑lans to share with the Dal community when he visits for a set of sessions on Monday, October 24.
鈥淲hat I鈥檝e found in working with a wide variety of organizations is that they鈥檒l often contact me to come talk about health promotion, but it becomes clear very quickly that they鈥檙e interested in much more than just supporting employees to be healthy and well,鈥� says Dr. Lowe, calling from a conference he鈥檚 speaking at in Toronto.
鈥淭hey鈥檙e really looking to build an organization that would be described in the same ways we describe healthy people: resilient, agile, thriving.鈥�
Dr. Lowe was a professor of sociology at the University of Alberta for 25 years, but now focuses his attention on his consulting business based out of Kelowna, B.C. His expertise is sought after by both companies and conferences across Canada and around the world, particularly his perspective on how structures, systems and culture need to evolve to create healthier, more sustainable organizations.
His latest publication is his 2010 book, Creating Healthy Organizations: How Vibrant Workplaces Inspire Employees to Achieve Sustainable Success.
Improving a workplace culture
Dr. Lowe will be leading three sessions at Dalhousie, one of which鈥攁 talk titled 鈥淗ow to Build a Healthier Organization鈥濃�攊s open to the public, sponsored by Human Resources. (To register, visit the website - registration closes October 20.) The other sessions will be with senior university leaders and with the Workplace Survey Strategy Committee, focusing on how the university can best leverage the latest results to improve Dal鈥檚 working culture.
鈥淲hen it comes to universities and healthy workplaces, a couple of things stand out, and I see these as real positives,鈥� he says. 鈥淭he first is that you have a highly educated and committed workforce, and that鈥檚 not true in every industry.
鈥淭he second is that we鈥檙e not talking about one workplace here 鈥� we鈥檙e talking about multiple workplaces. And I see that as a positive as well, because you can encourage all sorts of front-line or grassroots initiatives to improve the work environment.鈥�
Identifying opportunities
While he says that the rhetoric about healthy workplaces has outpaced the actual change in many organizations, he says that鈥檚 understandable: the change in perception often takes the lead ahead of action. Now, he says, is the time for organizations like universities to take a leadership role in building a healthy workplace.
鈥淎 lot of what I鈥檓 doing these days is helping to identify the best opportunities for organizations to actually move up to that next level, to look at the culture of how jobs and work environments are designed, to look at connections really between all of their people initiatives and the overall strategies for their organization.鈥�
Event: Graham Lowe - How to Build a Healthier Organization
Date: October 24, 2011
Time: 3:00-4:30 p.m.
Location: Room 224, Student Union Building
Free to attend. To register, visit the .聽 Following Dr. Lowe's talk will be a presentation of Dalhousie鈥檚 first Healthy Workplace Award.