Workplace Health Promotion Embedded in Medical Surveillance: The Italian Way to Total Worker Health Program

In 2011, NIOSH launched the Total Worker Health (TWH) strategy based on integrating prevention and health promotion in the workplace. For several years now, in Italy, this integration has led to the creation of workplace health promotion embedded in medical surveillance (WHPEMS). WHPEMS projects, which are also implemented in small companies, focus each year on a new topic that emerges from the needs of workers. During their regular medical check-up in the workplace, workers are invited to fill in a questionnaire regarding the project topic, its outcome, and some related factors. Workers receive advice on how to improve their lifestyles and are referred to the National Health Service for any necessary tests or treatments. Results collected over the past 12 years from more than 20,000 participants demonstrate that WHPEMS projects are economical, sustainable, and effective. The creation of a network of occupational physicians who are involved in WHPEMS projects could help to improve the work culture, health, and safety of workers.

Appearance between professionalism and work-related stress among marketing employees

BACKGROUND

Appearance and body language are key components of non-verbal communication and play an important role in the service and marketing sector.

OBJECTIVE

The aim was to explore experiences and perceptions of appearance issues related to work among employees in the marketing sector in Sweden.

METHODS

Interviews were conducted with 15 marketing and communication employees (five males, ten females), at multinational companies and a university. Thematic analyses were conducted, and content was organised in two themes with sub-themes: 1. Appearance from a resource perspective (Appearance benefits; Physical activity resources; Age benefits). 2. Appearance from a demand perspective (Adaptation to gender roles; Investment in appearance; Adaptation to situation and culture).

RESULTS

The findings showed that appearance was perceived as a resource for professionalism, work engagement and career in various ways. Appearance-related issues were not considered on organisational work level, but employees perceived unspoken demands to look good and appropriate to represent the company brand. The employees spent a considerable amount of time, money, and effort on appearance.

CONCLUSION

Appearance creates dualistic questions and points out several dilemmas that the individual struggle to solve, which creates stress in work. The character of unspoken demands on appearance and absent communication on organisational level make the stress-coping strategies complicated and the stress coping is mostly left for the individual to handle. A gender difference shows that compared to men, women more often experience negative stress generated by appearance-related issues in work. Education and actions at the managerial level of companies are needed.

Working environment, work engagement and mental health problems among occupational and physical therapists

BACKGROUND

Working environment, work engagement and health among occupational and physical therapists in Norway have rarely been investigated.

OBJECTIVES

(1) To compare the psychosocial working environment, work engagement and mental health problems of occupational therapists with those of physical therapists; (2) to compare the same measures among occupational therapists working in the specialist and municipal healthcare services, respectively; and (3) to identify job demands and resources that influence the work engagement and mental health problems of occupational therapists.

MATERIAL AND METHODS

The Survey for Health Promoting Workplaces was used to collect data from 170 occupational therapists and 273 physical therapists (response rate =35%) working in specialist and municipal health care in Norway. Student's t-test, Pearson correlations and multiple regression analysis were used.

RESULTS

Occupational therapists experienced higher job demands and poorer health than physical therapists. Occupational therapists in the municipal healthcare services were slightly more satisfied with their job resources than colleagues in specialist healthcare services. Meaningful work and the opportunity to use one's strengths and potential contributed the most to high work engagement. Low work engagement was the most important contributor to poor mental health.

CONCLUSION AND SIGNIFICANCE

The mental health of occupational therapists seems to be closely related to the opportunity to perform high-quality therapy. It is important that work is organised so that occupational therapists have meaningful work tasks and opportunity to use their strengths and potential.

How do international humanitarian aid workers stay healthy in the face of adversity?

BACKGROUND

International humanitarian aid workers (iHAWs) are motivated strongly to travel abroad to help communities affected by war, famine, disaster and disease. They expose themselves to dangers and hardships during their field assignments. Despite working under such challenging circumstances, most workers remain healthy. The objective of the present study was to unravel the mechanism that enables workers to remain healthy under the same circumstances that affect these communities. We hypothesised that the different components of the Sense of Coherence (SOC) health mechanism mediate the relationship between field stressors and post-assignment health.

METHODS AND FINDINGS

The stress-health model was tested among 465 international aid workers using a longitudinal pre-post assignment study design and structural equation modelling for path analyses. The (health) outcome variables were PTSD, anxiety, depression, emotional exhaustion, and work engagement. Our findings highlight the importance of being healthy before aid assignment and the negative health impact of field stressors that were not potentially traumatic. The SOC components mediated the relationship between field stress and post-assignment health, with males and females using different SOC components to alleviate stress. Males are more likely trying to understand the nature of the stressor, whereas females mobilise their resources to manage stressors. In both groups, a high level of meaningfulness of the work was an important component in maintaining health. Regarding using the SOC concept for understanding the process of maintaining health, our findings indicated that SOC is best considered context-specific and multidimensional.

CONCLUSION

In addition to good pre-mission health, the SOC components help prevent field assignment-related negative health effects in iHAWs. Our findings support the idea to compose gender-balanced teams of iHAWs to maintain and promote health. The findings can be used to develop or refine health conversation tools and SOC based health interventions to promote health and wellbeing and prevent ill-health among aid workers and other stress-exposed populations.

The co-production of a workplace health promotion program: expected benefits, contested boundaries

Workplace health promotion (WHP) are often depicted as an opportunity for pursuing a better and broader well-being condition under the assumption that working environments affect the physical, mental, and social well-being of individuals who spend large proportion of waking hours at work. While most empirical studies provided medical evidence to the effectiveness of WHP programs, scholars question the instrumental purposes of these programs founded on the belief that "healthy workers are better workers". Little is known, for instance, about the design of WHP programs and their acceptance by workers. Our study addresses this gap, analyzing the co-production of a WHP program in an Italian research institute promoted by the healthcare authority, the local government and the national center for prevention and security in the workplaces. To this aim, we adopt the notion of boundary object investigate how different stakeholders reclaim to take part and being involved in this process, re-shaping their goals and their boundaries and why a WHP program or parts of it may be rejected or re-negotiated by its recipients. Our analysis reveals how each stakeholder contributes to re-shape the WHP program which emerges as the modular product of the composition of each matter of concern. Most notably, the strong rooting in a clinical perspective and the original focus on only workers at risk is gradually flanked by initiatives to involve all employees. Moreover, workers draw a line as for the legitimacy of employers' intervention in the personal sphere of health promotion, embracing interventions addressing diet and physical activity while rejecting measures targeting smoking and alcohol consumption.

Impact of Agile Learning on Innovative Behavior: A Moderated Mediation Model of Employee Engagement and Perceived Organizational Support

This study analyzed learning agility, employee engagement, perceived organizational support (POS), and innovative behavior related to the development of innovative environment and the mental and psychological health of employees. A substantial body of research has examined the antecedents of innovative behavior of employees in their work environment, but our current understanding of how learning and motivational aspects of employees synthetically influence the innovative behavior remains incomplete. To address this gap, we developed and tested a moderated mediation model of the relationship between learning agility and employee engagement, POS, and innovative behavior. Following the job-demand resource model, componential theory, and social exchange theory, our postulated model predicted that the mediating effect of employee engagement on the relationship between learning agility and innovative behavior would be moderated by POS. The result of the analysis of the data on 331 corporate employees in South Korea supported this model. Specifically, learning agility was related to innovative behavior, while employee engagement mediated the relationship between learning agility and innovative behavior; POS strengthened the positive effect of learning agility on innovative behavior via employee engagement. We also discuss the implications of the results, future direction, and limitations of this study based on these findings.

A framework for participatory work environment interventions in home care - success factors and some challenges

Background

Home care is beset with work environment issues and high staff turnover, while research concerned with interventions to improve the work environment is sparse. Few of the existing interventions apply a participative approach, despite this being associated with more positive outcomes and sustainable change. This paper presents a framework, rooted in action research and action learning, for participatory work environment interventions in home care, and demonstrates how this framework has been implemented in four Swedish home care organizations.

Methods

The framework has three phases (pre-intervention, intervention planning and intervention implementation) and consists of cycles of action and reflection in three constellations: a group of researchers, a reference group with labour market organization representatives and home care managers, and intervention work groups in the home care organizations. The work was documented and analysed with focus on the realization of the framework and challenges that were met on the way. The interventions were evaluated using a pre-/post-test questionnaire design.

Results

Parts of the framework were successfully implemented. The pre-intervention phase and the intervention planning phase, with intervention work groups, worked well. All four groups identified one intervention relevant to their own context. However, only two of the proposed interventions were fully implemented and evaluated. The high staff and management turnover, and the high rate of organizational changes made it impossible to evaluate the interventions statistically. Yet, data from open-ended questions in the post questionnaire showed that the two implemented interventions were perceived as successful.

Conclusions

The participatory framework, presented in this paper, seems promising for work environment interventions in home care. The framework was designed to reduce the risk of known disturbances affecting the process in unstable organizations. Despite this, it proved challenging to execute the framework, and especially the interventions, due to changes happening at high speed. In the two cases where organizational changes were not dominating, the interventions were implemented successfully. While the prerequisites for participation and successful implementation could be improved somewhat, the main issue, the instability of the organizational context, is hard for researchers or the individual home care units to tackle alone.

People Performance Scales (PPS): A multi-company, cross-sectional psychometric assessment

This study aims to test the nomological validity of the People Performance Scales (PPS) using the job demands-resources (JD-R) model. All employees at two large companies in Norway (a governmental agency and a worker's union) were invited to complete the PPS questionnaire electronically. A total of 2,469 respondents completed the questionnaire, resulting in an 87 percent response rate. Data was analyzed Structural Equation Modelling. First, all 15 scales included in the PPS showed excellent internal and construct validity. PPS was also found to have configural-, construct-level metric- and scale-level metric invariance across age groups and genders. Second, findings indicate that the PPS can be used for both research and consultancy based upon the JD-R model, while simultaneously assessing constructs of particular importance in Norwegian and Scandinavian legislation. The PPS represents a short and efficient questionnaire which measures the most relevant working environment constructs in a reliable and distinct way. The questionnaire has great psychometric characteristics and is well suited for use in organizations to measure employees' experience of working environment factors, allowing organizations to identify areas of improvement and to support organizational development.

Pathological traits and adaptability as predictors of engagement, job satisfaction, burnout and workaholism

Abstract This study aimed to test the predictive capacity of pathological traits of personality and career adaptability on four constructs that compose the well-being at work: work engagement, job satisfaction, burnout, and workaholism. A total of 204 Brazilian working adults (M age = 34.02, SD = 10.39) participated in the study, which responded to scales measuring pathological traits, career adaptability resources, and well-being components at work. Our findings indicate that pathological traits are, in general, negatively related to job satisfaction and work engagement and positively associated with burnout and workaholism. After the insertion of career adaptability, there was an increase in most of the models' explanation. The contribution of adaptability was significant only for job satisfaction prediction.

Burnout and Work Engagement Among US Dentists

BACKGROUND

Burnout is a threat to patient safety. It relates to emotional exhaustion, depersonalization, and lack of personal accomplishment. Work engagement conversely composed of levels of vigor, dedication, and absorption in one's profession. The aim of this study was to examine burnout and work engagement among US dentists.

METHODS

This study used the extensively validated Maslach Burnout Inventory-Human Services Survey and Utrecht Work Engagement Scale to measure burnout in a self-administered survey of 167 US dentists who attended continuing education courses held in Boston, Pittsburg, Iowa City, and Las Vegas. The mean scores on the 3 subscales of Maslach Burnout Inventory-Human Services Survey and Utrecht Work Engagement Scale were computed. The interscale correlations between the components of burnout and work engagement were assessed using Pearson correlations. We used 1-way analysis of variance and independent 2 sample t tests to examine the relationship between burnout and work engagement across sex and various age categories. Prevalence of burnout in our study population was also computed.

RESULTS

We observed that 13.2% of our study population experienced burnout and 16.2% of our study population was highly work engaged. There was a statistically significant, unadjusted association between burnout risk and work engagement (χ2 = 22.51, P < 0.0001). Furthermore, the scores in the subscales of burnout were significantly correlated with scores in the subscales of work engagement.

CONCLUSIONS

In this preliminary study, we observed some evidence of burnout among practicing US dentists. It is imperative that the dental profession understands this and works to promote professional practices that increase work engagement and decrease burnout.

Workplace health promotion interventions for Australian workers with intellectual disability

Workplace health promotion (WHP) and the general wellbeing of workers in the Australian workforce should be a priority for all management. Our study argues that management support for workers with an intellectual disability (WWID) can make a difference to their health promotion and ultimately their participation in the workforce. We adopt a qualitative approach, through semi-structured interviews with 22 managers, across various organizations, to examine their perspectives around the WHP of WWID. We integrate the key values of WHP; rights for health, empowerment for health and participation for health (Spencer, Corbin and Miedema, Sustainable development goals for health promotion: a critical frame analysis, Health Promot Int 2019;34:847-58) into the four phases of WHP interventions; needs assessment, planning, implementation and evaluation (Bortz and Döring, Research Methods and Evaluation for Human and Social Scientists, Heidelberg: Springer, 2006) and examine management perspectives (setting-based approach) on WHP of WWID. Where this integration had taken place, we found some evidence of managers adopting more flexible, innovative and creative approaches to supporting the health promotion of WWID. This integration seemed to drive continuous improvement for WWID health promotion at the workplace. We also found evidence that some organizations, such an exemplar film company, even over deliver in terms of supporting WWID needs by encouraging their capabilities in film making interventions, whilst others are more direct in their support by matching skills to routine jobs. Our approach demonstrates that incorporating key WHP values into the four-phase WHP framework is critical for the effective health promotion of WWID.

Associations between culture of health and employee engagement in social enterprises: A cross-sectional study

Introduction

The aging of staff and skill shortage are major challenges for social enterprises. Nurturing a workplace culture of health and fostering employee engagement could be starting points to combat these challenges. The associations between these two factors have received comparatively little attention from the scientific community, in particular with regard to social enterprises. Hence, this study aims to examine those associations, drawing on the job demands-resources theory and the social-ecological workplace culture of health model. It is hypothesized that employees’ self-rated health acts as a mediator in the relationship between culture of health and employee engagement and that health as personal value works as a moderator.

Method

The study used the Workplace Culture of Health scale to measure culture of health in social enterprises and UWES-9 to assess employee engagement. Data was collected administering a quantitative online survey among employees of social enterprises in Germany. The dataset for analyses comprised N = 172 employees in total. Data analyses included Pearson’s correlations, regression analysis, as well as mediation, moderation and moderated mediation analyses.

Results

Culture of health is a predictor of employee engagement in social enterprises. The analyses demonstrate a moderate association between culture of health and employee engagement. Indications were found that employees’ self-rated health acts as a mediator and that health as personal value acts as a moderator between culture of health and employee engagement in social enterprises.

Discussion

This study suggests that fostering a culture of health in social enterprises does not only have a positive effect on employee health, but also on employee engagement. This applies in particular when employees attribute great value to their health, which is to be expected even more in future. Hence, nurturing a culture of health becomes a pivotal management task in social enterprises. Moreover, a comprehensive assessment of the benefits of health promotion programs in social enterprises should not only consider their health-related outcomes, but also factor in their impact on employee engagement.

Globalization, Work, and Health: A Nordic Perspective

The Nordic countries are among the world's leading countries in international rankings on prosperity, productivity, social equity, trust, and health. Such positive results may be linked to how these countries have organized their working life. The aim of this article is to describe core elements of the Nordic working life model (emphasizing Norway) and discuss how globalization may challenge the model, and thereby influence public health. Based on an extensive review of relevant research, we show that the Nordic working life model with a coordinated wage bargaining system between well-organized employers and employees results in productive enterprises, small wage differences, good working environments, and a high level of well-being. Global trends of liberalization of working life, increased labor migration, the platform economy, reduced unionization, and more precarious work challenge the Nordic working life model and its reliance on standard working contracts. Such a trend may result in increased inequity, reduced generalized trust, and poorer public health. Politicians and other stakeholders in the Nordic countries should cope appropriately with globalization and technological changes so that the Nordic countries will uphold their well-organized working life and good societal achievements.

Working Conditions in Social Firms and Health Promotion Interventions in Relation to Employees' Health and Work-Related Outcomes-A Scoping Review

BACKGROUND

Social firms-a type of social enterprise-offer people with severe disabilities the possibility of employment and integration into the labor market. Since 01 January 2018, social firms in Germany are obligated to provide health promotion interventions for their employees. Therefore, the study aims to provide an overview of the current state of research on working conditions, coping strategies, work- and health-related outcomes, and health promotion interventions in social firms to derive recommendations for action.

METHODS

The databases PubMed, MEDLINE, PsycINFO, PSYNDEX, CINAHL, and Web of Science were searched. The study selection was based on predefined inclusion and exclusion criteria in the time period between 2000 and 2019. The quality of the studies was critically appraised in a standardized way using the Mixed-Methods Appraisal Tool.

RESULTS

A total of 25 studies were included. The current state of research indicated that employees with disabilities were provided with several environmental resources like social support, flexibility, structured work tasks or options for training. A mix of environmental and personal resources impacted several work- and health-related outcomes like well-being, job satisfaction, productivity, work engagement, the motivation to work, or job tenure.

CONCLUSIONS

There is a need for further (longitudinal) research concerning the work and health situation of employees working in social firms and the development of health promotion interventions.

Exploratory and Confirmatory Factor Analysis of the 9-Item Utrecht Work Engagement Scale in a Multi-Occupational Female Sample: A Cross-Sectional Study

Objective

The aim of the present study was to use exploratory and confirmatory factor analysis (CFA) to investigate the factorial structure of the 9-item Utrecht work engagement scale (UWES-9) in a multi-occupational female sample.

Methods

A total of 702 women, originally recruited as a general population of 7-15-year-old girls in 1995 for a longitudinal study, completed the UWES-9. Exploratory factor analysis (EFA) was performed on half the sample, and CFA on the other half.

Results

Exploratory factor analysis showed that a one-factor structure best fit the data. CFA with three different models (one-factor, two-factor, and three-factor) was then conducted. Goodness-of-fit statistics showed poor fit for all three models, with RMSEA never going lower than 0.166.

Conclusion

Despite indication from exploratory factor analysis (EFA) that a one-factor structure seemed to fit the data, we were unable to find good model fit for a one-, two-, or three-factor model using CFA. As previous studies have also failed to reach conclusive results on the optimal factor structure for the UWES-9, further research is needed in order to disentangle the possible effects of gender, nationality and occupation on work engagement.

Move-It: A Cluster-Randomised Digital Worksite Exercise Intervention in China: Outcome and Process Evaluation

We evaluate the outcomes and processes of a video and web-based worksite exercise intervention for sedentary office workers in China, in a 2-arm cluster-randomised wait-list control trial (n = 282: intervention (INT) n = 196 and wait-list control (WLC) n = 86). Eligible clusters were two sites of a major organisation in China randomly allocated to each group (INT: Guangzhou; WLC: Beijing); eligible participants were site employees (n = 690). A theoretically informed digital workplace intervention (Move-It) involving a 10 min Qigong exercise session (video demonstration via website) was delivered twice a day at set break times during the working day for 12 consecutive weeks. Individual-level outcomes were assessed. Participants' physical activity increased significantly from baseline to post-intervention similarly in both the intervention and the control group. There was a significantly smaller increase in weekday sitting hours in intervention than controls (by 4.66 h/week), and work performance increased only in the control group. Process evaluation (including six focus groups) was conducted using the RE-AIM (reach, effectiveness, adoption, implementation and maintenance) framework. The intervention had wide reach and was successfully marketed to all employees with good uptake. The participatory approach increased perceived organisational support and enhanced adoption. The intervention was implemented broadly as planned. Qigong worksite exercise intervention can be successfully delivered to sedentary office workers in China using video and web-based platforms. It may increase physical activity and does not adversely affect perceived work performance. The study highlights the complexity of conducting health promotion research in real-world organisational settings.

Be well: A systems-based wellness intervention using mindfulness in the workplace – A case study

Introduction: Healthy work environments are essential in determining improved well-being of Australians. Job stress has been identified as a significant factor in psychological distress. This study evaluated the effect of introducing a systems-based workplace wellness programme using mindfulness in the workplace. Methods: The programme ‘Be Well’ was introduced as part of a systems-based approach to workplace health promotion, and evaluated using sick leave as a proxy for workplace stress, and the stress satisfaction offset score to determine the degree of change in stress and satisfaction. Results: There was significant reduction in sick leave (2014 vs. 2012) (p<.001), and significant improvement in stress satisfaction offset score (p<.05). Logistic regression analysis identified the programme components most predictive of reduced stress and higher job satisfaction. Conclusion: The impacts of a systems-based mindfulness workplace wellness intervention, show significant improvements in workers’ sick leave and changes to stress and satisfaction scores. This study has implications for sector-wide policy change in the workplace.

Work engagement as a mediator between organizational commitment and job satisfaction among community health-care workers in China: a cross-sectional study

The purpose of this study was to explore levels of organizational commitment, job satisfaction and work engagement among community health-care workers in China, and to examine spatial relationships of variables. Data were collected by Organizational Commitment Scale, Job Satisfaction Scale and Utrecht Work Engagement Scale from 1404 community health-care workers in Guangzhou and Shenzhen cities. Structural equation model was used to analyze relationships among three variables. Medium levels of organizational commitment, job satisfaction and work engagement were found among community health-care workers. Organizational commitment was positively correlated to work engagement (r = 0.564) and job satisfaction (r = 0.550). The path analysis indicated that total effect (β = 0.598) of organizational commitment on job satisfaction (R ² = 0.52) consisted of a direct effect (β = 0.264) and an indirect effect (β = 0.334), which was mediated positively by work engagement. Improvement in work engagement may lead to higher level of job satisfaction and organizational commitment.

Does work engagement enhance general well-being and control at work? Mediating role of psychological capital

Purpose

The purpose of this paper is to examine the mediating role of psychological capital (PsyCap) between work engagement (WE) and general well-being (GWB) as well as between WE and control at work (CAW).

Design/methodology/approach

Data were collected from 200 medical employees involved in rendering healthcare services. Structural equation modeling was done to test the hypotheses.

Findings

Analyses of the data revealed that PsyCap mediates fully between WE and CAW and partially between WE and GWB.

Research limitations/implications

The results show that PsyCap plays a positive role in transferring the impact of engagement levels to GWB and CAW. The results augment the broaden-and-build theory by explaining how positivity at the workplace can help the engaged employees improve well-being and CAW.

Practical implications

Hospitals in India are encouraged to recruit psychologically capable (high in PsyCap) employees. Such psychologically capable and engaged employees have greater CAW and have higher general well-being.

Originality/value

This study is among the few preliminary studies which have focused on the mechanism through which well-being and CAW of employees involved in healthcare services in India get affected.

Cultural Adaptation and Psychometric Properties of the Shirom-Melamed Vigor Measure (SMVM) With Workers in Spain

Shirom's proposal about engagement focuses on vigor. Under this approach, vigor is considered an affect that mediates the relationship between resources, behaviors, and attitudes related to psychological functioning and health. It is important for occupational health professionals to have adequate measures of this construct. The Shirom-Melamed vigor measure (SMVM) was developed to capture this sense of energy comprising three components (physical strength, emotional energy, and cognitive liveliness). In the absence of a Spanish version of the SMVM, our aim is to perform a cultural adaptation and to further analyze its psychometric properties. In Study 1, we culturally adapt the SMVM in Spanish samples. It incorporates a careful development of a three-step procedure according to the International Test Commission and qualitative analyses to ensure a consensus version. Twenty-six individuals were involved. In Study 2, the responses of 203 workers from different organizations show the validity and reliability of the instrument. Confirmatory factor analyses yield a model with three interrelated dimensions showing good fit indices. Furthermore, concurrent validity is demonstrated. Finally, we discuss the usefulness of the SMVM for occupational health professionals.

Working fulltime throughout pregnancy - The Norwegian women's perspectives. A qualitative approach

OBJECTIVE

the purpose of this study was to gain a deeper understanding of aspects that influence healthy women's ability to work fulltime throughout the pregnancy, considering women's experiences and individual perspectives, as well as understanding health resources available to them.

DESIGN/SETTING

a qualitative approach was selected for the data collection, and the data presented is derived from in-depth interviews. Ten pregnant Norwegian women with uncomplicated pregnancies, aged 24-40, working fulltime throughout their pregnancies with no sick leave, were interviewed during pregnancy week 37-39. All participants had their regular check-ups at six local public health clinics. The transcribed interviews were analysed through systematic text condensation.

FINDINGS

the findings included two main themes: Supporting environment and having a positive mindset. Feeling good about oneself and feeling appreciated at work provided these women with the supporting environment they needed. All the respondents had coped with different challenges that they found important when working throughout their pregnancies while facing the difficulties of a pregnancy. They emphasised that their positive attitude and coping skills contributed to normalising the pregnancy and motivated them to go to work.

CONCLUSIONS

having a positive mindset and a balanced perspective on the pregnancy and bodily changes are important factors in being able to work throughout pregnancy. Support, in various arenas, might positively influence pregnant women´s positive mindset, having a favourable effect on their health resources and ability to continue working when bearing children.

Perceived workplace health support is associated with employee productivity

PURPOSE

To examine the relationship between perceived workplace health support and employee productivity.

DESIGN

A quantitative cross-sectional study.

SETTING

Washington State agencies.

SUBJECTS

A total of 3528 employees from six state agencies were included in this analysis.

MEASURES

Perceived workplace health support was assessed by two questions that queried respondents on how often they felt supported by the workplace for healthy living and physical activity. The Work Productivity and Activity Impairment Questionnaire was used to measure health-related absenteeism and presenteeism in the past 7 days.

ANALYSIS

Multivariate linear regression was used to estimate the mean differences in productivity by levels of perceived health support.

RESULTS

Most participants were between 45 and 64 years of age and were predominantly non-Hispanic white. Presenteeism varied significantly by the level of perceived workplace health support, with those who felt least supported having higher presenteeism than those who felt most supported. The difference in presenteeism by perceived workplace support remained significant in models adjusting for sociodemographic and health characteristics (mean difference: 7.1% for support for healthy living, 95% confidence interval: 3.7%, 10.4%; 4.3% for support for physical activity, 95% confidence interval: 1.7%, 6.8%). Absenteeism was not associated with perceived workplace health support.

CONCLUSION

Higher perceived workplace health support is independently associated with higher work productivity. Employers may see productivity benefit from wellness programs through improved perceptions of workplace health support.

Prevention and rehabilitation in Swedish public sector workplaces: Effects on co-workers' and leaders' health and psychosocial working conditions

BACKGROUND

Leaders and co-workers in Swedish public sector organizations are exposed to demanding psychosocial working conditions; more knowledge about workplace-based interventions in this sector of working life is needed.

OBJECTIVE

To compare co-workers' and leaders' self-ratings of health and psychosocial working conditions, and investigate how prevention and rehabilitation in Swedish public sector workplaces affects these ratings.

METHOD

The longitudinal panel data consisted of 311 individuals (20 leaders, 291 co-workers) at 19 workplaces. Based on questionnaire data, statistical analyses were performed using Mann-Whitney U-Test, pair-wise Spearman correlations, a mixed between-within subjects ANOVA and Friedman's test.

RESULTS

Results indicate differences in how the leaders and the co-workers judge their health and psychosocial working conditions. Leaders report work content that is more varied and interesting as well as more possibilities for personal development through work, yet they also report more tiredness, concern over managing their work situation and time pressure at work. Comparisons of mean values for used indicators show some improvements after one year, but also several non-significant or negative time trends two years after the interventions were initiated.

CONCLUSION

The study provides some support for experienced differences between co-workers' and leaders' health and psychosocial working conditions in public sector workplaces, indicating the importance of different workplace-oriented prevention and rehabilitation interventions for these two categories of employees.

Is there a case for mental health promotion in the primary care setting? A systematic review

OBJECTIVES

To evaluate the effectiveness of mental health promotion (MHP) interventions by primary health care professionals in the adult population.

METHODS

Systematic review of literature in English and Spanish for randomized controlled trials (RCTs) and observational studies evaluating the impact of interventions carried out by primary care professionals explicitly to promote and improve the overall mental health of adult patients. PubMed, PsycINFO, and Web of Science were independently searched by two investigators to identify all MHP articles from inception to October 2013 (no restrictions).

RESULTS

We retrieved 4262 records and excluded 4230 by a review of title and abstract. Of 32 full-text articles assessed, 3 RCTs were selected (2 in USA, 1 in UK); two focused on the mental health of parents whose children have behavioral problems, the other on older people with disabilities. One study reported a MHP intervention that improved participants' mental health at 6-month follow-up. All studies had low-moderate quality (2 of 5 points) on the Jadad Scale.

CONCLUSION

There is a lack of implementation and/or evaluation of mental health promotion activities conducted by primary care professionals. More research is needed to clearly understand the benefits of promoting mental health in this setting.

Health challenges in South African automotive companies: Wellness in the workplace

Orientation: In South Africa, workplace programmes in the automotive industry focus predominantly on occupational health and safety and HIV and AIDS. The implementation of focused workplace interventions might be hampered when companies are not convinced that the condition (i.e. HIV and AIDS) is the main negative health influencing factor responsible for increased production costs.Research purpose: The study investigated the health influencing conditions perceived to negatively impact company production costs and related interventions.Motivation for the study: Apart from HIV and AIDS, little information is available about the health challenges in the South African workplace and focused HIV and AIDS programmes might only partly respond to the key health challenges of workplaces. The inter-relatedness of various risky lifestyle factors linked to health conditions necessitates a comprehensive health promotion approach.Research approach, design and method: A cross-sectional survey was conducted amongst 74 companies selected through stratified random sampling. Non-parametric tests were conducted to investigate the health influencing factors perceived to impact production costs, the monitoring thereof, extent of containment and the implementation of interventions in terms of company size and ownership.Main findings: The health factors perceived to have a moderate to large impact were HIV and AIDS, smoking, alcohol use, stress, back and neck ache and tuberculosis, also reported to be better monitored and managed by medium and large organisations. Small organisations reported a smaller impact, fewer efforts and less success. HIV and AIDS programmes were more evident in large companies and those with wellness programmes (52%). Workplace programmes enabled better monitoring and managing of impacting health conditions. Smaller organisations were not convinced of the benefits of interventions in addressing health challenges.Practical/managerial implications: As the impacting health conditions seemed linked, comprehensive and integrated wellness programmes are required to address the health issues and ensure organisations’ competitiveness.Contribution: The results contribute to a better understanding of the perceived salient health influencing factors that impact on production costs. Data support the inter-relationships between the identified health concerns and call for more holistic wellness programmes.

Effectiveness of a worksite mindfulness-related multi-component health promotion intervention on work engagement and mental health: results of a randomized controlled trial

OBJECTIVES

The aim of the present study was to evaluate the effectiveness of a worksite mindfulness-related multi-component health promotion intervention on work engagement, mental health, need for recovery and mindfulness.

METHODS

In a randomized controlled trial design, 257 workers of two research institutes participated. The intervention group (n = 129) received a targeted mindfulness-related training, followed by e-coaching. The total duration of the intervention was 6 months. Data on work engagement, mental health, need for recovery and mindfulness were collected using questionnaires at baseline and after 6 and 12 months follow-up. Effects were analyzed using linear mixed effect models.

RESULTS

There were no significant differences in work engagement, mental health, need for recovery and mindfulness between the intervention and control group after either 6- or 12-months follow-up. Additional analyses in mindfulness-related training compliance subgroups (high and low compliance versus the control group as a reference) and subgroups based on baseline work engagement scores showed no significant differences either.

CONCLUSIONS

This study did not show an effect of this worksite mindfulness-related multi-component health promotion intervention on work engagement, mental health, need for recovery and mindfulness after 6 and 12 months.

TRIAL REGISTRATION

Netherlands Trial Register NTR2199.

Engagement no trabalho: uma discussão teórica

O engagement no trabalho é considerado como um estado cognitivo positivo de realização, relacionado com o mundo laboral, que se caracteriza por três dimensões: vigor, dedicação e absorção. Este é formado por um componente comportamental-energético (vigor), um componente emocional (dedicação) e um componente cognitivo (absorção). O objetivo deste estudo é apresentar uma revisão de publicações científicas internacionais acerca do constructo. O estudo do engagement no trabalho vem como consequência de inúmeras pesquisas realizadas sobre a síndrome de burnout, corroborando com as premissas da psicologia positiva. Conclui-se que existe deficiência de publicações neste constructo, principalmente em se tratando do contexto brasileiro.