Healthy Enterprise

Standard  CAN/BNQ 9700-800
Healthy Enterprise — Prevention, Promotion and Organizational Practices Contributing to Health and Wellness in the Workplace

With employee health, both physical and psychological, representing a global issue of paramount importance now more than ever, the Canadian Healthy Enterprise standard has become a pioneer. It is the first to offer employers a preventative approach that is positive and pragmatic aiming to create and maintain workplaces that contribute to the health and wellness of their employees. This standard is designed for any business or organization, regardless of its type, size, or activities.

In addition to encouraging the recruitment and retention of the best talent, good practices detailed in the Healthy Enterprise standard support sustainable improvements in the health of individuals, increase productivity, and confer a significant financial advantage to the enterprise, especially in terms of reducing costs related to absenteeism and disability.

To implement a plan of action that will meet your employees’ physical and psychological health needs and concerns, the standard proposes employee data collection in four areas of activity that are recognized as having a positive impact on health and wellness in the workplace. This information will then enable their needs to be established and prioritized in order to target the interventions and practices to be put in place.

Work-life balance

Practices associated with this area of activity promote a better balance between the demands of one’s working life and those of one’s personal life. These practices can include flexible working hours, an hour bank, and teleworking, among others.

Management practices

Healthy practices related to work organization and social relationships include those that promote a fair workload distribution, recognize individual and team effort, and encourage information sharing between employees and managers, for example.

Work environment

These practices, which aim to maintain a safe and agreeable workplace, cover, among others, workstation ergonomics, sanitary conditions, noise levels, and adequate access to protective equipment.

Lifestyle habits

Interventions in this area target any individual behaviour or regular activity of a person that affects his or her health. They encourage the adoption or continuity of healthy lifestyles, especially in relation to stress management, nutrition, physical activity, and sleep.

The Healthy Enterprise standard, an initiative of The Healthy Enterprises Group and developed by the Bureau de normalisation du Québec, was reaffirmed in May 2024.