The role of Sanitary engineers in creating better working conditions for kindergarten employees

Problem: Health promotion at the workplace represents targeted activities and actions carried out by the employer to maintain and improve physical and mental health of workers. Employment Relationship Act Occupational Health and Safety Act (No., 43/2011) in article 32 obliges the employer for the promotion of workplace health plan and the necessary resources for it. This can be ensured by ergonomic working environment, which can be planned by sanitary engineer, together with other experts. Purpose: Propose actions based on the analysis of two questionnaires on the welfare of workers in the workplace and understanding or perception of the importance of ergonomics in their workplaces. Method: Questionnaires were filled by employees in the nursery field in the central region of Slovenia in 2014; first in February (N = 100) and the second in August (N = 46). The selected variables were analysed regard to working environment criteria, the age and type of employment involved in the study. Results: The analysis of the first questionnaire shows that most of the respondents described their work as interesting, with their jobs, satisfied and believe that workplace safety is guaranteed. The analysis of the second questionnaire has proven to be the most statistically significant correlation between knowledge of the concept of ergonomics and type of employment between the age group and the frequency of lectures on ergonomics and the type of chair in the workplace. Conclusions: The recommendations relevant for planning the continuous education, involving health promotions as key elements of ergonomics to perform specific tasks.