A global, cross cultural study examining the relationship between employee health risk status and work performance metrics

Abstract

BackgroundHealth risk assessments (HRA) are used by many organisations as a basis for developing relevant and targeted employee health and well-being interventions. However, many HRA’s have a western-centric focus and therefore it is unclear whether the results can be directly extrapolated to those from non-western countries. More information regarding the differences in the associations between country status and health risks is needed along with a more global perspective of employee health risk factors and well-being overall. Therefore we aimed to i) quantify and compare associations for a number of health risk factors based on country status, and then ii) explore which characteristics can aid better prediction of well-being levels and in turn workplace productivity globally.MethodsOnline employee HRA data collected from 254 multi-national companies, for the years 2013 through 2016 was analysed (n = 117,274). Multiple linear regression models were fitted, adjusting for age and gender, to quantify associations between country status and health risk factors. Separate regression models were used to assess the prediction of well-being measures related to productivity.ResultsOn average, the developing countries were comprised of younger individuals with lower obesity rates and markedly higher job satisfaction compared to their developed country counterparts. However, they also reported higher levels of anxiety and depression, a greater number of health risks and lower job effectiveness. Assessment of key factors related to productivity found that region of residency was the biggest predictor of presenteeism and poor pain management was the biggest predictor of absenteeism.ConclusionsClear differences in health risks exist between employees from developed and developing countries and these should be considered when addressing well-being and productivity in the global workforce.Electronic supplementary materialThe online version of this article (doi:10.1186/s40557-017-0172-1) contains supplementary material, which is available to authorized users.

Associations between healthcare worker participation in workplace wellness activities and job satisfaction, occupational stress and burnout: a cross-sectional study in Botswana

“…Data from high-income settings suggest that WWPs can have numerous benefits, including lowered healthcare costs, reduced absenteeism, increased productivity and positive economic impact. 11–15 However, the situation is different in less resourced countries, with higher reported levels of anxiety, depression and health risks 16 and lower nutritional habits and physical activity. 17 Thus, little is known about the effectiveness of WWPs when implemented to improve occupational health among health workers in these settings, outside of a few studies in South Africa.…”

<p>Determinants of Depressive Symptoms Among Rural Health Workers: An Application of Socio-Ecological Framework</p>

“…The highest direct contribution to depressive symptoms occurred from the personal-level factors, which should not be surprising because job satisfaction, job skills and capability are consistently associated with depressive symptoms. [60][61][62] Furthermore, the lowest mean score among the components was found among the reinforcing factors, which shows that the RHWs' organization has not worked well in providing them with encouraging mechanisms and recreational and welfare programs. This is unfortunate since such programs are associated with improved efficiency, 61 reduced medical costs 63 and depressive symptoms 13 among the workers.…”

“… 60 – 62 Furthermore, the lowest mean score among the components was found among the reinforcing factors, which shows that the RHWs’ organization has not worked well in providing them with encouraging mechanisms and recreational and welfare programs. This is unfortunate since such programs are associated with improved efficiency, 61 reduced medical costs 63 and depressive symptoms 13 among the workers. One of the major organizational deficiencies with the job of an RHW is the wide range of responsibilities and also the high level of accountability to a wide range of health personnel from various levels of the healthcare system, 12 which make them more vulnerable to depressive symptoms.…”

Analysis of a comprehensive wellness program's impact on job satisfaction in the workplace

“…By gathering these data, the leaders of the organization can determine which wellness programs might be better suited for the employee population in an attempt to improving employees' overall health. HRAs also provide employees with a picture in time of their overall health which can be tracked year over year (Howarth et al, 2017) Corporations may, at times, have a focus that is too narrow to offer a comprehensive wellness program, which can be problematic. If the focus of a corporation becomes too narrow regarding what problems the program is trying to attempt to influence, the corporation leaders run the risk of failing to implement a successful comprehensive wellness program.…”

“…By gathering these data, the leaders of the organization can determine which wellness programs might be better suited for the employee population in an attempt to improving employees' overall health. HRAs also provide employees with a picture in time of their overall health which can be tracked year over year (Howarth et al , 2017)…”