The promotion of good health is designed to mould behaviour and lifestyles that value and foster health and to develop a living environment that supports health.

The principle of workplaces that promote health is based on preventing health risks in working environments, protecting the health of employees, customising working conditions to meet an employee’s abilities, promoting health itself and providing primary health care. Aspects of people’s quality of life must be taken into account in the planning of every workplace, meaning their physical, psychological and social well-being in the working environment, which cannot be measured on the basis of the number of occupational accidents and illnesses that occur alone. Employees are increasingly looking for working environments that focus attention on their quality of life – be it the availability of a hot meal at the workplace, a smoke-free environment, somewhere to exercise or simply a person-friendly working space.

In order to support the development of workplaces which promote health, the National Institute for Health Development coordinates a cooperative network of companies known as Workplaces Promoting Health.