Healthy at work: The role of the work environment in worksite health promotion

Abstract

Organisations increasingly offer worksite health promotion to improve the health and lifestyle of their employees, and also because doing so has been reported to affect employees’ productivity. Worksite health promotion can take diverse forms, such as offering healthy food choices in the worksite cafeteria and providing onsite fitness facilities. Many of the positive effects of worksite health promotion are contingent on the extent to which employees use it. However, only a limited number of employees does so, and there is large variation between organisations in employee participation rates. In this dissertation, Anne van der Put studies the role of the work environment in explaining worksite health promotion use and its outcomes. To do so, she makes use of unique multilevel survey data of employees in many organisations from nine European countries. In addition, she designed and conducted a survey experiment to examine worksite health promotion for employees working from home. This dissertation contributes by answering novel questions in relation to worksite health promotion and health behaviours in the context of work. By focussing on the work environment, and social relations at work in particular, it contributes to understanding how to increase worksite health promotion use. A unique dataset with ample variation in work environments allowed for this. Furthermore, the research shows that worksite health promotion exceeds the physical limitations of the workplace, by accounting for the new context of hybrid work. Finally, examining different types of worksite health promotion provides deeper insights into its use and outcomes. The results show that the work environment matters for the use of worksite health promotion, both in the workplace and when employees work from home. Especially colleagues are important for the healthy choices employees make, both at work and outside. When colleagues encourage a healthy lifestyle, employees are more likely to participate in worksite health promotion, eat more fruits and vegetables and engage in more physical activity. The more colleagues participate in worksite health promotion, the more employees do so too. Additionally, the healthy eating behaviours of colleagues are related to each other. Organisational culture also plays a role. When work goes above and beyond everything, employees refrain from using worksite health promotion. These findings also apply when employees work from home: employees are more likely to use worksite health promotion when their colleagues do so and when this takes place during working hours. By allowing this, the organisation signals that they care about its employees’ well-being. This research furthermore shows that higher educated employees are more likely to use worksite health promotion, which translates in increased health inequalities. Employers also benefit, as the results indicate that employees that use worksite health promotion, but also those that are aware of its existence, perform better. Employers should ensure all employees are provided access to worksite health promotion, are aware of its existence and are able to use it. This will help employees in being healthy at work.