Descriptive Study of Employee Engagement With Workplace Wellness Interventions in the UK

Abstract

Objective: To explore sequential steps of employee engagement in wellness interventions and the impact of wellness interventions on employee health. Methods: Using previously collected survey data from 23,667 UK employees, we tabulated intervention availability, awareness, participation, and associated health improvement and compared engagement by participation and risk status. Results: Employees’ awareness of wellness interventions at their workplaces was often low (mean 43.3%, range 11.6%–82.3%). Participation was highest in diet/nutrition initiatives (94.2%) and lowest in alcohol counseling and smoking cessation interventions (2.1%). Employees with health risks were less likely than lower-risk employees to report awareness, participation, and health improvements from wellness interventions addressing the relevant health concern. Conclusion: Employers and policymakers should consider variation in intervention engagement as they plan and implement wellness interventions. Engaging employee populations with higher health risks requires a more targeted approach.

Diet quality during the COVID-19 pandemic: Effects of workplace support for families and work-to-family enrichment in dual-earner parents with adolescent children

“…In this latter role, food and food consumption occupy an important part of an average person's life in terms of time, energy and financial resources ( Grunert et al, 2007 , Schnettler, Hueche et al, 2020 ), and it includes several activities such as meal planning, shopping and meal preparation. We thus propose that the effects of work resources extend to the food domain, as shown by previous studies ( Clemente et al, 2021 ; Haugaard et al, 2016 ; Mulaney et al, 2021 ). Research shows that workers are more likely to achieve an ideal diet when they have more time and more work-life balance ( Melby & Takeda, 2014 ); more likely to meet the fruit and vegetable consumption requirements when they experience less time pressure ( Djupegot et al, 2017 ); and report more intentions to consume a low-fat diet when they have more job resources, such as supervisor support, rewards, and participation in decision-making processes ( Shukri et al, 2016 ).…”

“…The positive effects of workplace support can also go beyond the work and family domains. These effects have been found to extend to the health and food domains ( Matias et al, 2017 ; Ollier-Malaterre et al, 2020 ; Yucel & Minnotte, 2017 ), including diet quality (e.g., Clemente et al, 2021 ; Haugaard et al, 2016 ; Mulaney et al, 2021 ). Unhealthy eating/diet in workers have been linked to poorer work performance and to health-related issues, such as sleep disorders, obesity, diabetes, and cardiovascular disease ( Liu et al, 2017 ).…”

“…The literature on workers' diet quality has focused on the negative effects of work demands and work-family conflict on eating habits, showing that daily stress entails a depletion of personal resources, which in turn results in unhealthy eating ( Cho & Kim, 2021 ; Djupegot et al, 2017 ; Liu et al, 2017 ; Melby & Takeda, 2014 ; Shukri et al, 2016 ; Takeda et al, 2018 ). Moreover, a substantial body of research has focused on diet interventions in the workplace (e.g., Clemente et al, 2021 ; Haugaard et al, 2016 ; Mulaney et al, 2021 ). To our knowledge, the positive relationship between resources gained from the work-family interface and diet quality have been less explored, whereas most studies focused on the relationship between work and eating habits, have been carried out at an individual level (i.e., the worker), neglecting the interdependence between individuals ( Brady et al, 2021 ; Carlson et al, 2019 ; Matias & Recharte, 2020 ; Lo Presti et al, 2020 ).…”

Use it or lose it? Identifying reasons for the low use of psychosocial support by hospital staff

“…The fact that hospital staff indicated they were in need for psychosocial support but ultimately did not make use of it because they were unable to find the support is striking. We know from literature on wellness interventions, such as exercise or resilience programs, that employees tend to lack awareness of organizational programs and interventions in place due to a lack of communication by the organization and overlooking it due to day-to-day tasks [ 46 ]. Our findings support this notion and, furthermore, show that even when communicated, a lack of clarity as to whom support is for can hamper the use.…”

Occupational COPD—The most under‐recognized occupational lung disease?

“…A second objective is to target other risk factors which can contribute to the risk of COPD, such as smoking 137 . Smoking cessation interventions and counselling are already offered worldwide as part of workplace health promotion 138 and may contribute, together with smoking bans at work, to reducing the burden of COPD. A third objective is to report workers with accelerated decline in lung function to their general practitioner, in order to start a medical surveillance and offer other opportunities to the worker/patient, such as rehabilitation programmes, vaccination, smoking cessation programmes, genetic predisposition screening and, if necessary, pharmacological treatment.…”