Starting from January 2025, the time when most Dutch people make new resolutions, employees will be able to complete the Periodic Medical Examination (PME) online. During 2024, the HR department was busy preparing for this. Starting from January 2025, employee health will be monitored using this validated tool.
'We strive to be a good employer,' says Johanna Brandsma, HR manager. 'That’s why we want to stay informed about our colleagues' well-being. We support them as best we can when they are ill, but ultimately, our goal is to prevent illness altogether. We also want to ensure that no warning signs go unnoticed.'
Follow-up research
Employees, just in the Netherlands for now, can voluntarily fill in the online questionnaire that addresses a variety of health issues. From smoking and drinking to sleeping, from bullying and stress to physical strain. The result is a colour code: green, orange or red. Johanna: 'If a colleague is in an at-risk group (orange/red), they will be offered a follow-up examination by the provider of this test, who specialises in sustainable employability. They may be able to make a referral to a General Practitioner or to recommend other interventions. Of course, colleagues can also ask for support themselves.'
At the same time, the PME is linked to the Transport and Logistics Foundation (STL), which offers a variety of interventions ranging from quitting smoking to lifestyle counselling. 'So if someone wants something, after getting their results, they have the opportunity to take action,' Johanna said. 'The colleague remains anonymous. We remain completely on the outside, we don't get anything about individuals reported back to us.'
We want to know how our colleagues are doing. We look after them as best we can when they're ill, but ultimately we don't want them to get sick at all.
Johanna Brandsma, HR manager
Targeted interventions
Not only does the employee get information about his or her health through the PME, the HR department gets insight into the state of its employees' health as a group. 'Because we will have access to the health of our people for the first time in 2025, we will know which knobs to turn. Instead of a scattergun approach, we can use more targeted interventions. Suppose we see that sleep is a problem among many respondents, we will see what we can do to address that issue.'
Ultimately, the PME is also a tool to reduce absenteeism. 'We need to move from an approach focused on cure to one based on prevention, so that our colleagues stay healthy for as long as possible.'