Healthy lifestyles play an important role in the prevention of premature death, chronic diseases, productivity loss and other social and economic concerns. However, workplace interventions to address ...issues of fitness and nutrition which include work-related outcomes are complex and thus challenging to implement and appropriately measure the effectiveness of. This systematic review investigated the impact of workplace nutrition and physical activity interventions, which include components aimed at workplace's physical environment and organizational structure, on employees' productivity, work performance and workability.
A systematic review that included randomized controlled trials and or non-randomized controlled studies was conducted. Medline, EMBASE.com, Cochrane Library and Scopus were searched until September 2016. Productivity, absenteeism, presenteeism, work performance and workability were the primary outcomes of our interest, while sedentary behavior and changes in other health-related behaviors were considered as secondary outcomes. Two reviewers independently screened abstracts and full-texts for study eligibility, extracted the data and performed a quality assessment using the Cochrane Collaboration Risk-of-Bias Tool for randomized trials and the Risk-of-Bias in non-randomized studies of interventions. Findings were narratively synthesized.
Thirty-nine randomized control trials and non-randomized controlled studies were included. Nearly 28% of the included studies were of high quality, while 56% were of medium quality. The studies covered a broad range of multi-level and environmental-level interventions. Fourteen workplace nutrition and physical activity intervention studies yielded statistically significant changes on absenteeism (n = 7), work performance (n = 2), workability (n = 3), productivity (n = 1) and on both workability and productivity (n = 1). Two studies showed effects on absenteeism only between subgroups.
The scientific evidence shows that it is possible to influence work-related outcomes, especially absenteeism, positively through health promotion efforts that include components aimed at the workplace's physical work environment and organizational structure. In order to draw further conclusions regarding work-related outcomes in controlled high-quality studies, long-term follow-up using objective outcomes and/or quality assured questionnaires are required.
Registration number: PROSPERO CRD42017081837.
ObjectivesThe aim of this review was to explore the notion of alcohol-related presenteeism; that is, whether evidence in the research literature supports an association between employee alcohol ...consumption and impaired work performance.DesignSystematic review of observational studies.Data sourcesMEDLINE, Web of Science, PsycINFO, CINAHL, AMED, Embase and Swemed+ were searched through October 2018. Reference lists in included studies were hand searched for potential relevant studies.Eligibility criteriaWe included observational studies, published 1990 or later as full-text empirical articles in peer-reviewed journals in English or a Scandinavian language, containing one or more statistical tests regarding a relationship between a measure of alcohol consumption and a measure of work performance.Data extraction and synthesisTwo independent reviewers extracted data. Tested associations between alcohol consumption and work performance within the included studies were quality assessed and analysed with frequency tables, cross-tabulations and χ2 tests of independence.ResultsTwenty-six studies were included, containing 132 tested associations. The vast majority of associations (77%) indicated that higher levels of alcohol consumption were associated with higher levels of impaired work performance, and these positive associations were considerably more likely than negative associations to be statistically significant (OR=14.00, phi=0.37, p<0.001). Alcohol exposure measured by hangover episodes and composite instruments were over-represented among significant positive associations of moderate and high quality (15 of 17 associations). Overall, 61% of the associations were characterised by low quality.ConclusionsEvidence does provide some support for the notion of alcohol-related presenteeism. However, due to low research quality and lack of longitudinal designs, evidence should be characterised as somewhat inconclusive. More robust and less heterogeneous research is warranted. This review, however, does provide support for targeting alcohol consumption within the frame of workplace interventions aimed at improving employee health and productivity.PROSPERO registration numberCRD42017059620.
Critical scholars have critiqued workplace health promotion (WHP) discourses for extending managerial influence on workers' lives, shifting health responsibilities to workers, and disregarding ...occupational health and safety (OHS) and other structural issues. This essay promotes a worker-centered framework for workplace health, featuring (1) the holistic integration of WHP, OHS, and wellness as well as economic, environmental, and consumer health, (2) substantive worker voice, and (3) structural mechanisms to support worker interests. A case study of five Equitable Food Initiative (EFI)-certified farms demonstrates how these features can be enacted in practice. EFI is a multi-stakeholder, third-party verification and consumer labeling initiative aimed at improving farm working conditions, promoting food safety and environmental stewardship, and boosting business outcomes. Although EFI was not designed as a traditional OHS or WHP initiative, the certified farms in this study model an integrated and participatory approach to employee well-being that also encompasses fenceline communities and consumers.
Purpose:
To provide a nationally representative snapshot of workplace health promotion (WHP) and protection practices among United States worksites.
Design:
Cross-sectional, self-report Workplace ...Health in America (WHA) Survey between November 2016 and September 2017.
Setting:
National.
Participants:
Random sample of US worksites with ≥10 employees, stratified by region, size, and North American Industrial Classification System sector.
Measures:
Workplace health promotion programs, program administration, evidence-based strategies, health screenings, disease management, incentives, work–life policies, implementation barriers, and occupational safety and health (OSH).
Analysis:
Descriptive statistics, t tests, and logistic regression.
Results:
Among eligible worksites, 10.1% (n = 3109) responded, 2843 retained in final sample, and 46.1% offered some type of WHP program. The proportion of comparable worksites with comprehensive programs (as defined in Healthy People 2010) rose from 6.9% in 2004 to 17.1% in 2017 (P < .001). Occupational safety and health programs were more prevalent than WHP programs, and 83.5% of all worksites had an individual responsible for employee safety, while only 72.2% of those with a WHP program had an individual responsible for it. Smaller worksites were less likely than larger to offer most programs.
Conclusion:
The prevalence of WHP programs has increased but remains low across most health programs; few worksites have comprehensive programs. Smaller worksites have persistent deficits and require targeted approaches; integrated OSH and WHP efforts may help. Ongoing monitoring using the WHA Survey benchmarks OSH and WHP in US worksites, updates estimates from previous surveys, and identifies gaps in research and practice.
The global process of population aging and changes in labour force participation models increase the median age of the working population. The increasing number and proportion of employed at age 60 ...and more inevitably affect workplace health promotion and is a challenge to all employers, companies and countries. The purpose of this article is to analyze the attitude of the society in European countries to the problem of the aging workforce, the extent to which employers assess specific health needs of older workers, and their willingness to adapt working conditions to them. The analysis is based on data collected by the European Agency for safety and health at work (EU-OSHA) in the framework of the Pan-European survey on occupational safety and health, the International Monetary fund (IMF), Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD), country profiles etc. The majority of employers consider that older workers are less productive, less adaptable to changes in the workplace, and therefore more at risk of stress. They confirm the necessity of programs and policies which make the working environment more friendly to old workers. At the same time, organizations which already implement such policies is low in most European countries. It varies from 1% to 24% in different countries. Although they are aware of the risks to which workers over the age of 60 are exposed, the development and implementation of health promotion programs in the workplace, addressing the specific needs of older workers, is not a widespread practice.
•Work-family initiatives improve population mental health, especially for women.•Flexible schedule and telework are more beneficial than reduced work hours.•Availability benefits men and women, but ...actual usage only benefits women.•Actual and perceived job quality is critical in promoting employee mental health.•Effective implementation helps reduce gender disparities in work-family conflict.
Work stress and work-family conflict are important correlates of affective disorders. The article explored (1) whether the wide adoption of work-family initiatives improve a national workforce's mental health; (2) whether the potential benefits differ between the initiatives that give employees autonomy over job quality (flexible schedule and telework) or job quantity (work hours); (3) whether the effects depend on employee's perceived availability or actual usage of the initiatives, and if so, what are the respective mechanisms; and (4) whether there are gender differences in the mental health effects.
Fixed-effects analyses of five-wave panel surveys from 2010 to 2020 on a probability sample of 34,484 British workers, which measured mental health with the GHQ-12 scale. Job satisfaction and leisure time satisfaction were tested as mediators.
Perceived availability of work-family initiatives improved men and women's mental health by increasing their job satisfaction. Actual usage of work-family initiatives improved women's, but not men's, mental health by increasing their job satisfaction and leisure time satisfaction. The mental health benefits of flexible schedule and telework initiatives are larger than reduced work hours initiatives.
The exploratory study used a broad mental health outcome and did not measure work-family initiatives’ effects on specific affective disorders such as anxiety and depression. The study could not eliminate time-varying confounders.
Actual and perceived job quality are important in workplace mental health promotion. Organizational leaders and policymakers can offer flexible work time and place to reduce work-family conflict and prevent employees’ affective disorders.
Aim
To identify and evaluate randomized clinical trials focusing on economic evaluation of workplace health promotion (WHP) interventions based on healthy lifestyles, physical activity and nutrition.
...Design
A systematic review and meta‐analysis was carried out between March and May 2019, following the PRISMA statement.
Data Sources
The literature search was conducted on Cochrane Library, Scopus, WOS and Medline databases.
Review Methods
The quality appraisal included the overall risk of bias (Cochrane Collaboration tool), the quality of the evidence (GRADEpro) and the quality of the health economic analysis (QHES instrument).
Results
Of the 15 studies selected, 3 were interventions based on nutrition, 11 were focused on lifestyle and only one on physical activity. Given the heterogeneity of included studies, it was decided to do a subgroup analysis. For the weight loss (n = 5 studies), a general increase of 0.56 Kg (95% CI = 0.76, 0.84) I2 = 99.41%, and for the Quality‐adjusted Life Years achieved (n = 5 studies) a very small increase of 0.003 (95% CI = 0.002, 0.004) I2 = 99.25%, were observed.
Conclusions
The implementation of lifestyle interventions in the workplace has proven to be cost‐effective for both employers and society.
Impact
What problem did the study address? There are few studies aimed at evaluating the efficiency of WHP interventions. However, those that identify and assessing interventions related to lifestyle are particularly scarce, despite the evidence showing that these researchers improve the quality of care of occupational health.
What were the main findings? This systematic review demonstrates the effectiveness of the WHP interventions, and in some cases, the efficiency of these interventions for both employers and society. Additional research in this area is necessary as well as the assessment of the cost‐effectiveness of such interventions.
Where and on whom will the research have an impact? To know the cost‐benefit of different WHP interventions allows more efficient management of resources, which helps to make political and business decisions, becoming healthier and safer workplaces.
Objectives In spite of preventive efforts, organizations and employees face several challenges related to working life and occupational health, such as a substantial prevalence of musculoskeletal ...disorders, social inequality in health and physical capacity, multi-morbidity, an obesity epidemic and an aging workforce. We argue that a new approach to occupational ergonomics and health is required, going beyond prevention of harm caused by work. We propose the "Goldilocks Principle" for how productive work can be designed to promote health and physical capacity. Methods Physical (in)activity profoundly influences health and physical capacity, with effects depending on the extent and temporal structure of the (in)activity. Like the porridge, chair and bed that needed to be "just right" for Goldilocks in the The Three Bears fairytale, physical activity during productive work needs to be "just right" for promoting rather than deteriorating health and capacity. In many jobs, physical activity is, however, either too much/high/frequent or too little/low/infrequent to give positive biomechanical and cardiometabolic stimuli. Results This paper presents the rationale, concept, development, application and prospects of the Goldilocks Principle for how productive work can be designed to promote health and physical capacity. Conclusions We envision a great potential to promote health and physical capacity by designing productive work according to the Goldilocks Principle, thus leading to benefits with respect to the current challenges related to working life and occupational health for society, organizations and employees.
Physical inactivity and chronic stress at work increase the risks of developing metabolic disorders, mental illnesses, and musculoskeletal injuries, threatening office workers' physical and ...psychological well-being. Although several guidelines and interventions have been developed to prevent theses subhealth issues, their effectiveness and health benefits are largely limited when they cannot match workday contexts. This paper presents LightSit, a health-promoting system that helps people reduce physically inactive behaviors and manage chronic stress at work. LightSit comprises a sensor mat that can be embedded into an office chair for measuring a user's sitting posture and heart rate variability and a lighting display that is integrated into a monitor stand to present information unobtrusively, facilitating fitness and relaxation exercises during microbreaks. Following the showroom approach, we evaluated LightSit during a public exhibition at Dutch Design Week 2018. During the eight days of the exhibition, we observed more than 500 sessions of experiences with healthy microbreaks using our prototype. Semistructured interviews were conducted with 50 participants who had office-based jobs and had experienced LightSit. Our qualitative findings indicated the potential benefits of LightSit in facilitating health-promoting behaviors during office work. Based on the insights learned from this study, we discuss the implications for future designs of interactive health-promoting systems.
Employee health and wellness are important for employees, their families, and their organizations. We review the literature on both stress management interventions in organizations and workplace ...health promotion and wellness programs, from the lens of primary, secondary, and tertiary interventions as well as the framework provided by the job demands–resources model (
Bakker & Demerouti 2007
). Stress management interventions tend to be ameliorative, often focusing on restoring resources that have been depleted by the work environment, whereas workplace health promotion and wellness programs tend to be more preventive, enhancing job and personal resources for all employees. There appears to be a trend toward incorporating stress management as a component of workplace wellness programs, with these programs taking more of a primary or secondary intervention approach than a tertiary approach. In addition, although organization-level interventions are still relatively rare, there is growing evidence that organizational interventions, especially when combined with individual-level interventions, can be quite effective in promoting a positive, healthy work environment. We conclude the review by offering suggestions for future research and some considerations for the design and evaluation of future interventions.
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