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Recent New Zealand reports have identified the nursing workforce for its potential to make a significant contribution to increased productivity in health services. The purpose of this paper is to review critically the recent and current labour approaches to improve nursing productivity in New Zealand, in a context of international research and experience.

An examination of government documents regarding productivity, and a review of New Zealand and international literature and research on nursing productivity and its measurement form the basis of the paper.

It is found that productivity improvement strategies are influenced by theories of labour economics and scientific management that conceptualise a nurse as a labour unit and a cost to the organisation. Nursing productivity rose significantly with the health reforms of the 1990s that reduced nursing input costs but impacts on patient safety and nurses were negative. Current approaches to increasing nursing productivity, including the “productive ward” and reconfiguration of nursing teams, also draw on manufacturing innovations. Emerging thinking considers productivity in the context of the work environment and changing professional roles, and proposes reconceptualising the nurse as an intellectual asset to knowledge‐intensive health organisations.

Strategies that take a systems approach to nursing productivity, that view nursing as a capital asset, that focus on the interface between nurse and working environment and measure patient and nurse outcomes are advocated.

The paper shows that reframing nursing productivity brings into focus management strategies to raise productivity while protecting nursing and patient outcomes.

Depression and other mental health disorders have a large impact on the quality of life and productivity of millions of individuals worldwide. For employers, mental health disorders are associated with increased health care costs as well as productivity losses in the form of absenteeism, short‐term disability absences and reduced on‐the‐job productivity‐known as presenteeism. The purpose of this paper is to review the association of worker productivity and mental health.

This review summarizes the literature on the prevalence of mental health conditions among working adults, and the association between these disorders and productivity. Finally, the impact of interventions or workplace policies on the productivity of those suffering with mental health conditions is covered and recommendations for employers are suggested.

Depressive disorders are relatively common in most workforces compared to other mental health conditions. The majority of studies on mental health and productivity have been conducted as part of nationwide surveys or in patient populations rather than worksites. The majority of studies show associations between mental health conditions and absenteeism (particularly short‐term disability absences). When presenteeism is measured by a validated questionnaire, results show that depression significantly impacts on‐the‐job productivity (presenteeism). Studies also indicate that the treatment expenditures for employees with depression may be offset by reductions in absenteeism, disability and on the job productivity losses.

Workplace policies and benefits which support employees suffering with mental health disorders and provide access to evidenced‐based care adhering to best practice guidelines may improve the quality of life of employees and lead to reduced absenteeism, disability and lost productivity.

Some manufacturing processes generate extreme temperatures, noise and other irritating environmental conditions. These environmental factors can have a negative impact on workers’ performance and health. The purpose of this paper is to investigate the impact of temperature, noise and lighting on factory workers’ productivity and day-to-day health in a rubber compound manufacturing plant.

Secondary data on productivity, measurements of factory environmental conditions, and records of medical advice and treatments over a period of three months were used in this study. Causal analysis was performed using statistical techniques ANOVA and regression analysis in SPSS statistical package.

The results revealed that higher levels of temperature and noise inside the factory can cause lower productivity levels. High temperature may not only reduce the productivity but also contribute to illnesses or heat-stress symptoms such as headaches. The results further suggested that both noise and lighting level do not have a statistically significant impact on workers’ health. No statistical evidence was found on lighting level having an impact on workers’ productivity.

The study was particularly focused on a rubber compound manufacturing plant. However, the results were consistent with the results obtained in similar studies which focused on leather and shoe industry and automobile assembly industry.

The impact of environmental conditions on workers’ performance and health has been studied with respect to few industries and regions. This is the first of that kind carried out in Sri Lanka. Clear evidence of productivity losses and health impacts caused by high temperatures, raises the need for improving the working conditions.

The purpose of this paper is to measure the technical and scale efficiency of health centres; to evaluate changes in productivity; and to highlight possible policy implications of the results for policy makers.

Data envelopment analysis (DEA) is employed to assess the technical and scale efficiency, and productivity change over a four‐year period among 17 public health centres.

During the period of study, the results suggest that the public health centres in Seychelles have exhibited mean overall or technical efficiency of above 93 per cent. It was also found that the overall productivity increased by 2.4 per cent over 2001‐2004.

Further research can be undertaken to gather data on the prices of the various inputs to facilitate an estimation of the allocative efficiency of clinics. If such an exercise were to be undertaken, researchers may also consider collecting data on quantities and prices of paramedical, administrative and support staff to ensure that the analysis is more comprehensive than the study reported in this paper. Institutionalization of efficiency monitoring would help to enhance further the already good health sector stewardship and governance.

This paper provides new empirical evidence on a four‐year trend in the efficiency and productivity of health centres in Seychelles.

The paper seeks to describe the evolution of an integrated approach to health and productivity management that combines the disciplines of worksite health promotion and occupational safety and health, and to offer advice on how to implement such an integrated approach.

The paper takes the form of a review of the literature, focusing on the psychological, organizational, and human capital models that must be integrated for successful health and productivity management.

The first integrated health, safety, and productivity model was presented by DeJoy and Southern in 1993. However, occupational safety and health and worksite health promotion professionals view the workplace in different ways (from psychological and public health orientations, respectively) that may result in siloed work environments. Better communication and collaboration across these disciplines is essential for success. That can be fostered by adopting a human capital framework that views the health and safety of employees as essential ingredients for a healthy and productive work force. A practical approach for successful health and productivity management uses integrated data to investigate where challenges to worker health and safety can be found. This is followed by strategic and tactical planning to address these challenges. Programs that address problems at all levels (individual, organizational, environmental) are then adopted, followed by formal, rigorous, and continuous monitoring and evaluation.

The concept of integrated health and productivity management is new but is now being adopted by many organizations. Worksite health promotion and occupational safety and health professionals can work together to make substantial improvements to the quality of employees' lives and the economic and social health of the organizations where they practice.

Turkish Ministry of Health (MoH) has Health Transformation Program (HTP). The purpose of this program has been to modify the structure of the current system in order to enhance health system productivity, quality, and access in the Turkish health system. The paper aims to discuss these issues.

To measure the productivity, a data envelopment analysis-based Malmquist index approach was employed.

Results showed that the overall HTP have had a considerable positive impact on the productivity of general hospitals.

The limitation is the availability of some data that might not be collected or reported to the MoH in Turkey.

This research’s findings will have an impact on reforming the health care system in Turkey to be competitive and efficient as possible.

The research will have implication on reducing cost and provide value to the Turkish population.

This is one of the very few articles that targeted the efficiency of hospital system in Turkey.

The health costs associated with obesity are increasing in developed and emerging economies. Particularly important, though remaining underexplored, is the overall impact of health risks associated with being obese and overweight on the productivity of firms in a cross-country setting. The purpose of this paper is to address these issues.

This paper exploits the natural variation in the percentage of obese males in the population as an exogenous health risk randomly distributed across firms in each country.

Investigating this link for a sample of around 80 emerging countries, the evidence suggests a significant negative effect of health risks on productivity.

The identification assumptions are checked using different approaches to establish the robustness of the empirical link.

This study helps us understand the microlevel effects of the rising average obesity rate. This knowledge is rare in emerging economies which are facing the highest risks of obesity and cardiovascular diseases associated with it.

The purpose of this paper is to position well-being as a necessary component of the productivity debate and highlights the need for a deeper understanding of the nature of such a link. It first considers productivity at the national level in order to show how this affects both the climate and the economic policies within which organisations operate.

The paper presents an overview of current research and practice in the area. It treats the organisation as the primary level of analysis, and before highlights some of the apparent challenges in conceptualising well-being.

The importance of well-being is rising up national and employer agendas. Organisations need people to perform at their best in a sustainable way. The paper argues that an organisation with well-being at its core will reap productivity gains. It supports the view in the literature that improvements at national level can only be made on the back of sophisticated strategies across numerous organisations. However, for this to happen shared actions and understanding of these challenges has first to be created and acted upon across institutions and organisations. There are notable costs of poor well-being to productivity, and identifiable benefits of promoting and supporting employee well-being for productivity.

There is a clear practice implementation gap. Some organisations are embracing the opportunities to invest in their staff, but those who make employee well-being a business priority and a fundamental part of how the organisation operates are in the minority. There is also an ongoing challenge of measuring the impact of well-being programmes which can inform ROI assessments and enable organisations to demonstrate the business benefits of employee well-being.

There remain many unanswered questions about both the nature of the link between well-being and productivity and the economic impact of an association. This paper sparks further interest in expanding the understanding of the well-being and productivity link or peripheral issues.

Health is inextricably linked to the productivity and therefore the economic viability of individuals, populations and nations. A global strategy for health enhancement would yield a multitude of benefits for humankind. The root cause of the escalating healthcare cost crisis is driven by a health crisis from a growing burden of health risks that are leading to an expanding burden of chronic illness yielding an unsustainable economic burden. This paper aims to present a general review of the business value of health and the power of prevention in addressing solutions for managing total health and productivity costs.

The paper reviews the scientific and economic business case for investing in health enhancement.

Highlights of employer case studies and published research demonstrate that comprehensive, integrated population health enhancement can lower health risks, reduce the burden of illness, improve productivity and lower total health‐related costs. The dominant components of the solution are a substantial commitment to prevention and a culture of health rather than just more treatment and cure. In addition there needs to be a focus on the quality and effectiveness of care rather than just the quantity and efficiency of the care.

The healthcare cost conundrum can be impacted by reducing the burden of chronic illness and health risk in populations, thereby improving the health and productivity of the workforce, the health of the bottom line for engaged employers and ultimately the health of a nation's economy. Ultimately, the broader value proposition of integrated population health and productivity enhancement should drive this strategy by leveraging the value of health and the power of prevention.