THE COMPETITIVE ADVANTAGE ACQUIRED THROUGH EMPLOYEES' HEALTHCARE: ACTIONABLE HEALTH CARE STRATEGIES CREATING COMPETITIVE EDGE

The employees' safety and welfare are conditions for higher quality and improved productivity - as socio-economic levers of development. Healthy employees have higher motivation, greater job satisfaction, better contribution at work. The correct identification of occupational hazards and their supervision at workplace, as employers' responsibility, are the labour medicine's drivers. Compulsory by law, organized medical services serve occupational safety and health as part of general improvement in working conditions. A related strategy is necessary not only to ensure employees' security, but to increase productivity too. It is proved that healthy employees have higher motivation to work, greater job satisfaction and better contribution to delivering products and services, favouring the quality of their work and life's satisfaction. The correct identification of occupational hazards and their monitoring at the workplace as employers' responsibility, allow the identification of potential damages of individuals - physic capacities and capabilities as physical capital, the relational capacity to develop relations within the society, and the professional valuable capital of the company (Karasek, 1998). The health principles, built on behaviours and attitudes (Warr, 1990), sustain that healthy lifestyle and help creating the competitive advantages for employee's care. A sustainable environment, individuals' attractive skills development and logistic support for employees increase the interest in productivity, work enjoyment and build a friendly environment (Bond, 2001). Highlighting plans and strategies for a healthy lifestyle for employees plays an important role (Giga, 2003). Consequently, some directions are highlighted, starting with the state-of-the-art of health policies, plans and strategies, to later address new directions to achieve the expected results.