Changing Work, Changing Health

Abstract

This article investigates a change in the structuring of work time, using a natural experiment to test whether participation in a corporate initiative (Results Only Work Environment; ROWE) predicts corresponding changes in health-related outcomes. Drawing on job strain and stress process models, we theorize greater schedule control and reduced work-family conflict as key mechanisms linking this initiative with health outcomes. Longitudinal survey data from 659 employees at a corporate headquarters shows that ROWE predicts changes in health-related behaviors, including almost an extra hour of sleep on work nights. Increasing employees’ schedule control and reducing their work-family conflict are key mechanisms linking the ROWE innovation with changes in employees’ health behaviors; they also predict changes in well-being measures, providing indirect links between ROWE and well-being. This study demonstrates that organizational changes in the structuring of time can promote employee wellness, particularly in terms of prevention behaviors.

Flexi work, financial well-being, work–life balance and their effects on subjective experiences of productivity and job satisfaction of females in an institution of higher learning

“…Research by Moen et al (2011) argues that greater employee work-time control and flexibility by means of an organisational policy initiative can reduce employee turnover. Increased competitive advantage, higher productivity, attraction and retention of top talent are also some of the benefits for employers, while they list improved employee morale and quality of life, as well as decreased unscheduled absences as benefits for employees (Grobler & De Bruyn 2011).…”

Psychosocial work characteristics and sleep quality: a systematic review of longitudinal and intervention research

“…Every study measured all work characteristics validly and performed non-response analyses at either baseline or follow-up. Analyses performed were ANOVA or ANCOVA (31/32), structural equation modeling (56), and oneway analysis of variance with multiple range tests using the least significant difference (LSD) procedure (44).…”

Organizational Initiatives for Promoting Employee Work-Life Reconciliation Over the Life Course. A Systematic Review of Intervention Studies

“…1), placing higher emphasis on fostering characteristics and abilities that enhance individual coping with the challenges of work life reconciliation. Despite the wide variety of interventions at different organizational levels (Albertsen et al, 2014;Hammer et al, 2005;Moen et al, 2011c), the large sample sizes further confirm positive effects: reduced work-family conflict and improved health among employees with initially higher levels of work-family conflict, and less negative work-home spillover and absence days.…”

“…The study consisted of mainly hospitals and psychiatric wards, and aimed to investigate the impact of self-rostering on work-family conflict, work-family facilitation, time with children, and marital conflicts (Albertsen et al, 2014). Another study at the organizational level investigated whether a deliberate change in the temporal structure of work predicts changes in health-related outcomes, and whether personal resources by organizational initiatives for job redesign (i.e., work success will not be evaluated by working hours but by results-based appraisal of productivity and accomplishment) affect health outcomes through mechanisms of increasing employees' schedule control and/or reducing stressful work-family conflicts among employees of whom only 25% had small children (Moen et al, 2011b). The study by Hammer et al (2011) included supervisor training for improving family supportive supervisor behaviors, in order to enhance the skills and motivation of supervisors to increase their interpersonal contact with employees and support their needs as regards managing the work-family interface.…”

“…For instance, future research should contain control groups and differentiate the effects of multiple component interventions, psychological mediating processes (Hammer et al, 2005), pre/ postintervention data behavioral measures (Hammer et al, 2005;van Steenbergen et al, 2008), quasi/field/natural experimental designs (Hammer et al, 2005;Moen et al, 2011b;van Steenbergen et al, 2008), longitudinal data (Hammer et al, 2005;van Steenbergen et al, 2008), personality variables (van Steenbergen et al, 2008), randomized groups (Albertsen et al, 2014;Moen et al, 2011b), similar baselines between the groups (Albertsen et al, 2014), and large sample sizes (Giardini & Kabst, 2008;Martin & Sanders, 2003;Moen et al, 2011b). One issue when measuring the effects of interventions is time-lag, as some of the effects happen in the short-term and others in the long run (Albertsen et al, 2014;Hammer et al, 2011;Martin & Sanders, 2003;Moen et al, 2011b). A wait-list control group may be used to reduce feelings of unfairness among the intervention and control group (Albertsen et al, 2014;Michel et al, 2014).…”