EMPLOYERS:
Preventing cancer for your employees
Promoting a healthy work environment for your employees is the right thing to do.
Just talking to your employees once about cancer screening is not enough. It is important to create a workplace culture that consistently encourages cancer screening.
“The business community has an important role to play in promoting colorectal cancer screening.”
— National Colorectal Cancer Roundtable and American Cancer Society
Key strategies
Work with your insurance carrier to focus on colorectal cancer screening together. Sometimes insurance carriers have ready-to-go programs that they share with their customers and are designed to help improve screening rates within employee groups. Understand what screening options are covered for your employees. Set communication and screening goals.
Talk about and encourage colorectal cancer screening. This educates employees and helps break the stigma.
Find more strategies. Explore this guide for employers from The American Cancer Society and the National Colorectal Cancer Roundtable.
Paid time off for cancer screening
Offering paid time off (PTO) for employees to attend to their medical care is important. Many organizations go further. They provide a separate, extra allotment of PTO hours for cancer screenings. For example, New York State employees get 4 hours of PTO per calendar year for cancer screenings.
Promote screening
Let your employees know how you support them to get screened.
Describe insurance coverage available to your employees.
Describe PTO policies for cancer screening.
Ensure that leaders and managers support employees to use PTO for cancer screening.
Display screening posters in break rooms.
Send messages in employee newsletters.
Make talking about colorectal cancer screening normal. Break the stigma by having leaders talk about their experiences of getting screened.
Host awareness events at your worksites during March. March is Colorectal Cancer Awareness Month. Dress in Blue Day is the first Friday of every March.
"Because most people spend a majority of their waking hours at work, employers can play a vital role in promoting health and preventing disease including cancer."
Posters, flyers and messaging
Use these resources to create a workplace that encourages colorectal cancer screenings.
Oregon-specific materials produced by the Oregon Health Authority. Post in break rooms or to give to employees. These materials include a flyer, posters and a single-fold 8.5x11 brochure.
The American Cancer Society has a series of videos on screening.