The current investigation was designed as an evaluation of a worksite health promotion program with the goal of examining its effectiveness in terms of physical and attitudinal changes over the course of a 12-month evaluation. Because of the call for counseling psychologists to examine health through an interdisciplinary lens, the study examined variables from a variety of disciplines including health psychology, vocational psychology, occupational health, and positive psychology. Using a pretest-posttest design, employees completed measures of job satisfaction, career optimism, perceived stress, optimism, absenteeism, and Presenteeism (on the job productivity). In addition, health screening information was compared from the onset to the completion of the evaluation to determine if health factors improved at the organizational level over time. Results indicated that employees did not significantly improve in terms of health indicators (e.g., cholesterol levels, weight loss), levels of job satisfaction, career optimism, or perceived stress. In addition, results revealed no significant relationship between initial optimism levels and either health or psychological outcomes. Potential explanations for the lack of significant results is discussed including the economic climate in which the evaluation occurred, as well as cultural and organizational issues that may have contributed to a lack of improvement in wellness.

This study is to explore the staffs of Kaohsiung city government for: (1) The relationships among job stress, quality of work life, humor leadership, and worksite health promotion; (2) The moderating effect of humor leadership toward job stress and quality of work life; (3) The moderating effect of worksite health promotion toward job stress and quality of work life; (4) The differences of sample characters on job stress, quality of work life, humor leadership, and worksite health promotion. The questionnaire survey was conducted in the study. Based on the data from Department of Budget, Accounting and Statistics of Kaohsiung city government, the budgeted staffs in 2009 are 10,840 persons who were located into 11 institute¡¦s catagories. According to the staffs numbers, we measured by ratio sampling (8%-10%), and associated with convenient sampling. Total 1005 questionnaires were distributed to the government staffs and 71 public schools staffs, and the valid questionnaires were 800 copies with return rate of 79.6%. This study adopted exploratory factor analysis (EFA), confirmatory factor analysis (CFA), reliability analysis, descriptive statistics, independent-sample t-test, one-way ANOVA, Structural Equation Modeling (SEM), correlation analysis and multiple regression. The findings are: (1) The government staffs have more stress on outside-giving, and they were mostly satisfied with leadership style of their supervisors; (2) Extrinsic effort and Overcommitment negatively and significantly affect quality of work life; Self-esteem and job promotion positively and significantly affect quality of work life; (3) Extrinsic effort and overcommitment negatively and significantly affect the balance of job/life; Self-esteem and job promotion positively and significantly affect quality of work life; (4) Humor leadership is a moderator toward extrinsic effort, self-esteem, overcommitment and quality of work life; (5) Health life, comfortable environment, friendly worksite are partial moderators toward self-esteem, job promotion, overcommitment and job characteristics; (6) Part of personal characters have significant differences in job stress, quality of work life, humor leadership, and worksite health promotion. This study aims to the relationship between job stress and quality of work life from the staffs of Kaohsiung city government, and could confirm humor leadership and worksite health promotion to be a moderator partially affecting job stress and quality of work life. The results could be the reference to provide Kaohsiung city government and related institutes to work on the strategy for reducing job stress and increasing quality of work life.

Introduction: Adult obesity is a significant public health problem, increasing chronic disease and resulting in health and economic implications. The worksite environment provides a setting for comprehensive Worksite Health Promotion programs that can benefit employees and employers. However, the literature identifies barriers to implementation of WHP programs and achievement of positive outcomes. The purpose of this study was to determine if a DeKalb County Board of Health Employee Wellness Policy that provides work breaks during the workday for employees to engage in wellness activities has resulted in actual use of the break and employee perceived benefits. The study also examined barriers to use of the wellness break. Methods: In collaboration with the DeKalb County Board of Health, a cross-sectional study of 187 employees across eight locations was conducted. The survey instrument included both quantitative and qualitative questions and was administered electronically or in person via group administration. Results: Of survey respondents, 74% knew about the Employee Wellness Policy, 57% understood policy guidelines, and 41% had ever used wellness breaks. Respondents most often reported using wellness breaks for physical activity, most often for walking/jogging. A majority of employees using wellness breaks reported positive outcomes including: increased physical activity (64.4%), weight loss (65.2%), increased productivity (79.5%), improved work relationships (86%), increased work morale (64.4%), and increased overall positive outlook (69.9%). Barriers to utilization included: lack of time, lack of knowledge, lack of encouragement from management, and clinical setting. Management employees were significantly more likely to know about the policy and understand policy guidelines compared to non-management employees. Clinical employees were significantly less likely to ever use wellness breaks and less likely to feel their manager supports the policy. Conclusion: Sampled employees participating in wellness breaks perceive health and work-related benefits; however barriers have prevented some employees from utilizing the breaks. Quantitative and qualitative data may inform wellness policy changes for improved utilization and outcomes. Findings related to self-reported employee outcomes provide some support for a discretionary paid work break policy in the workplace.

Employers adopt worksite health promotions to reduce the incidence of preventable diseases, reduce healthcare costs, reduce absenteeism and presenteeism, and improve productivity. The purpose of this qualitative phenomenological study was to explore the motivational factors affecting employee participation in employer-sponsored health awareness programs. The theory of planned behavior grounded the study and formed the conceptual framework. Data collection occurred through semistructured interviews with 24 participants in the northeastern United States with lived experiences in worksite health promotion. Participants answered open-ended interview questions regarding the motivations for engaging in health promotions. Data were transcribed and coded for trends and themes. During data analyses, 4 themes emerged, which included program recruitment and notification, employer commitment, employee motivations, and incentives and rewards. The implications for positive social change include the potential for employers incorporating the results to instigate enhanced employee participation in employer-sponsored health awareness programs. Higher employee rates of participation may aid employers in achieving the established benefits of worksite health promotion and may contribute to improving the health of employees.

Evidence supporting the benefits of worksite health promotion (WHP) programs is extensive. Research shows these programs can improve the health of participants, lower health care costs, and improve the bottom line of employers. Although the evidence of these benefits is vast, reported participation in WHP is not optimal. Little published data exists on employees' perceived incentives and barriers for participation in WHP. The purpose of this study was to determine perceived barriers and incentives for participation in an existing WHP program at a large land-grant university. Opinions of eligible WHP participants were collected using a web-based questionnaire (n = 321). The questionnaire was adapted from questions used in the 2004 HealthStyles survey. Overall percentages and odds ratios of responses were calculated and stratified by demographics. Respondents were 68.5% female, 76.6% were college graduates, 47% were active, and 32.7% had a BMI ≥ 30. The most common reported barrier to using employee wellness services was no time during work day (60.2%). Women were more likely than men to report lack of energy (OR, 4.5; 95% CI, 1.7-11.9) and no time during work day (OR, 2.6; 95% CI, 1.4-4.8) as barriers to participation. Respondents who were underweight and overweight were less likely to report lack of energy than respondents who were obese (OR, 0.2; 95% CI, 0.1-0.6; OR, 0.4; 95% CI, 0.2-0.9). The most common reported incentive was having programs at a convenient time (66.6%). Younger respondents were much more likely to report paid time off work to attend as incentive to participate than respondents 60 or more years (18-29 years OR, 10.8; 95% CI, 2.9-40.1; 30-34 years OR, 4.2; 95% CI, 1.5-11.7; 35-44 years OR, 3.1; 95% CI, 1.3-7.4). Most preferred wellness service or policies were available fitness center (75.9%), health screening tests (75.6%), and paid time to exercise at work (69.6%). The results of this study, combined with an employer's own employee needs assessment, may help universities, and other employers with similar characteristics, design more attractive employee wellness programs. Making employee wellness programs attractive to their potential participants may improve program participation.

Background: Worksite screening programs are increasingly being provided by employers as a means to reduce cardiovascular risk in employees. A screening program that consists of fasting serum analysis of glucose plus a lipid panel is offered yearly to employees at the VA medical center in Tampa. A retrospective study was conducted to determine if a wellness clinic exposure resulted in significant changes in employees' markers of cardiovascular risk. Methods: Computerized records were used to follow serial outcomes for glucose, triglycerides, HDL cholesterol, and LDL cholesterol in employees whose screening results showed abnormal levels of one or more of these markers. An intervention group with 66 subjects received a wellness clinic visit including a health risk assessment and education for lifestyle change, and a reference group with 109 subjects received only serum analysis. Outcomes at repeat screening were compared for the two groups. Results: Both groups showed improvement in cardiovascular risk. In the intervention group there was significant intra-subject improvement from baseline for all markers except glucose. For triglycerides and LDL cholesterol there was a significantly greater proportion of subjects who improved in the intervention group. In addition, the improvement for triglycerides was significantly better in the intervention group. Conclusions: This investigation confirms the value of a worksite wellness program in reducing cardiovascular risk in the population studied. A differential impact of age and gender was seen for glucose and triglycerides and indicates that such modifiers should be considered through covariate analysis in assessing wellness program effectiveness. Increasing levels of employee wellness participation to targets identified in this study and adding a health risk assessment for everyone screened will help to identify the specific benefits of the face to face wellness counseling intervention.

I vård och omsorgssektorn är sjukfrånvaron hög. Det finns många orsaker till ohälsa och i många fall är det arbetsrelaterat och de anställda har en ökad risk att drabbas av psykisk ohälsa och främst stress. Finns det en obalans i arbetslivet och kraven överstiger resurserna kan det få negativa effekter. En god arbetsmiljö kan inspirera medarbetaren till att behålla sina egna resurser och bidra till en ökad medvetenhet relaterat till välbefinnande. Fysisk aktivitet har positiva effekter på hälsan och kan skydda individer från att utveckla psykiska ohälsa orsakad av stress. Måttlig intensitet av träning, 150 minuter per vecka är tillräckligt för att uppleva mindre stress och ett ökat välbefinnande. Arbetsmiljölagen ställer krav på arbetsgivaren att arbetet ska anpassas till den enskilda arbetstagarens psykiska och fysiska förutsättningar. I det ingår att undvika stress genom att anpassa arbetet till arbetstagaren. Syftet med studien är att belysa om det finns ett samband mellan fysisk aktivitet och upplevelsen av stress och den psykosociala arbetsmiljön hos medarbetare inom vård och omsorg. En kvantitativ metod har använts och olika professioner i vård och omsorgssektorn har svarat på en enkät. Resultatet visar att det inte finns signifikant skillnad i upplevelsen av stress mellan de som inte är fysiskt aktiva och de som är fysiskt aktiva. Däremot finns det ett samband mellan fysiskt aktiva individer kopplat till att de har lättare att hantera arbetskrav i form av arbetsmängd. De fysiskt aktiva upplever att de har stöd från arbetskamrater vänner och familj i större utsträckning än de fysiskt inaktiva. / In the healthcare and care sector sick leave is high. There are many causes of ill health and in many cases it is work-related and employees have an increased risk of mental illness and, above all, stress. If there is an imbalance in working life and the requirements exceed the resources, it can have negative effects. A good working environment can inspire the employee to maintain his own resources and contribute to increased awareness of well-being. Physical activity has positive effects on health and can protect individuals from developing mental health caused by stress. Moderate intensity of exercise, 150 minutes per week is enough to experience less stress and increased well-being. The Work Environment Act requires employers to adapt the work to the individual employee. The purpose of the study is to highlight whether there is a connection between physical activity and the experience of stress and the psychosocial work environment of the employee in healthcare and care. A quantitative method has been used and various professions in the healthcare and care sector have responded to a questionnaire. The result shows that there is no significant difference in the experience of stress between those who are not physically active and those who are physically active. On the other hand, there is a connection between physically active individuals linked to the fact that they are easier to handle work demands in terms of workload. The physical activists experience that they have support from workmates, friends and family to a greater extent than the physically inactive ones.