Results from a recent study tell us that an employer’s attempts to promote well-being at work will at best be multidimensional. This study was supported and created by the partnership of the Health Enhancement Research Organization (HERO), Brigham Young University, and the Center for Health Research at Healthways.
They found that if employers desire to reduce absenteeism and increase worker productivity they may want to consider initiatives within the workplace that involve “health management & engagement strategies”.
Why is this important? Researchers encourage people to view employee well-being as on a spectrum with one end representing an individual’s quality of life and the other end representing the significant impact that employee well-being can have on a business or organizations overall finances.
Another important take away from this research involves the role of the workplace environment. Researchers stress that employers should be reminded how the immediate working environment alone will be a significant factor in job performance. Do these results support the argument for multi-dimensional approaches to well-being in the workplace? Take a look . . .
- Workers who ate healthy the entire date were 25% more likely to have higher job performance.
- Workers who ate five or more servings of fruit and vegetables on four or more days in the past week were 20% more likely to have higher job performance.
- Workers who exercised for 30 or more minutes on three or more days a week were 15% more likely to have higher job performance
- Job performance was 11% higher among those workers who were not obese.
- Workers with well-managed chronic diseases experience higher productivity than individuals without chronic disease who are obese and do not exercise.
- Obese workers and those with a history of chronic disease and conditions related to pain and activity limitations were also more likely to have recurring absenteeism.
- Obese workers experienced lower job performance and higher absenteeism compared to workers with depression and other chronic diseases or conditions.
(* This research can be found within the Journal of Occupational and Environmental Medicine, and includes data compiled from over 20,000 American workers over a span of two years.)
AWE Wellness Highlights
You’ve just been enlightened by an Atlanta Workplace Examiner ‘Wellness Highlight’. Catch our next discussion on the third week of each month.
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