Canada’s Healthy Workplace Week is officially becoming a month. This year, organizations can take part in the national workplace-health-promotion campaign for an entire month—from September 29 to October 29.

Healthy Workplace Week (and now Healthy Workplace Month) is an opportunity for employers to educate their workforces about health and wellness. Many companies hold onsite health fairs and workshops. Some companies, such as the Halifax Chamber of Commerce, also hold healthy workplace awards during this time.

Since the campaign’s inception in 2001, an increasing number of employers across Canada have participated in Healthy Workplace Week. In 2007 alone, there were more than 47,000 visitors to the campaign website , and nearly 700 external websites linked to it during October.

Many employers also use the website as a year-round resource for ideas and information on creating healthy workplaces, says a campaign spokesperson.

Now with it becoming a month, organizers hope to raise even more awareness about the importance of employee health to business success.

Over the coming months, the website will feature a new logo, as well as month-long activities.

To mark the occasion, organizers are planning several changes, including:

– a new Healthy Workplace Month logo

– posting month-long activities on the website

– revamping the website to make more user-friendly

– developing new content for the website

– developing a marketing strategy to further increase awareness about workplace health and to drive organizations to the website

– conducting user surveys

– a new marketing strategy for the Quebec market to increase the number of visitors to the French-language website (www.semainesanteautravail.ca).

Healthy Workplace Month is under the direction and leadership of the Canadian Healthy Workplace Council, a consortium of Canadian organizations and practitioners dedicated to promoting a comprehensive and integrated approach to workplace health in Canada. The campaign is funded entirely through corporate sponsorships.

To comment on this story, email nancy.kuyumcu@rci.rogers.com.