[Relationship between organisational structure and worksite health management in the information technology and communications sector]

A German Model Project for Workplace Health Promotion-Flow of Communication, Information, and Reasons for Non-Participation in the Offered Measures

BACKGROUND

Workplace health promotion (WHP) as a part of workplace health management (WHM) was strengthened in German legislature with the Prevention Act of 2015. However, smaller enterprises often do not offer WHM or WHP. Accordingly, a model-project for improving the uptake and implementation, particularly in micro-, small, and medium-sized enterprises (MSMEs) was carried out. The aim of the study was to determine reasons for non-participation in WHP offers and analyze communication issues, both from the employee's and employer's perspective.

METHODS

In total, 21 managers or persons responsible for WHP participated in the first online survey between March and April 2020, and 156 employees responded to the second online survey between June and October 2021. The importance of barriers and communication issues was investigated. Based on a principal component analysis on non-participation, differences regarding sociodemographic variables were analyzed.

RESULTS

Most employees knew about the offered measures and that the measures were cost free. There was no significant association between having communicated the offers to the employees and considering them suitable for their needs. Most of the managers or persons responsible for WHP rated the measures as sufficiently varied and allowed staff to take part during working-time. Reasons for non-participation from the managers' point of view were travel time to the location of the offers, lack of time, and a missing fit between offers and employees' needs. From the employees' point of view, workload (including working time) was the main barrier to participation.

CONCLUSIONS

For the practical implementation of model projects in MSMEs, special attention should be paid to ensuring opportunity to participate, which may be easier with in-house offers.

[Workplace Health Promotion in Germany for All? Results of the 2018 BIBB/BAuA survey of Employed People]

AIM OF THE STUDY

This secondary analysis aims to investigate the prevalence and uptake of workplace health promotion (WHP) in Germany.

METHODS

Our data base was the 2018 BIBB-/BAuA Survey in Germany, which is a randomized representative CATI survey of 20,012 employed persons aged 15 and older. Proportions were compared among different groups and a binary logistic regression model was estimated.

RESULTS

47% of the employees reported that WHP interventions had been implemented in their company in the last two years. 25% of the employees had taken up the offer of WHP. The proportion of employees who confirmed that WHP was offered in their company increased sharply with the company size, but the take-up rates decreased. Employees in companies with a works/staff council stated a disproportionately high rate of implementation of WHP. However, employees with a low socioeconomic status reported WHP offer to a relatively small extent. In particular, employees without a vocational qualification, in a fixed-term employment, at risk of dismissal and temporary agency workers reported a relatively low implementation of WHP in their company. Logistic regression analyses aimed to identify predictors for the WHP offer. Compared to small companies, workers in medium-sized companies were more than twice as likely (OR=2.17) to have a WHP offer in their company and more than five times as likely (OR=5.64) in large companies. In the public sector, the chances of employees having WHP in their company were significantly better than in industry, crafts, trade or other sectors. Compared to German employees, employees with a foreign citizenship had a significantly lower chance of WHP being offered in their company (OR=0.78). A very good or excellent health status was associated with a slightly increased OR of 1.15 for WHP in the company. In companies in which employees were very satisfied with their work overall, the probability of a WHP offer was significantly increased (OR=1.70).

CONCLUSION

The analysis reveals large disparities in the WHP. There is a need for WHP strategies for targeting the small companies and the employees with a low socioeconomic status within the companies.

Attitudes of Company Executives toward a Comprehensive Workplace Health Management-Results of an Exploratory Cross-Sectional Study in Germany

Workplace health management (WHM) in Germany aims at maintaining and increasing the health and well-being of employees. Little is known about company executives’ attitudes toward WHM. To gain more insight, we conducted a large-scale survey in companies in the German county of Reutlingen in 2017. We sent a standardized questionnaire to 906 companies, containing inter alia 26 self-constructed declarative statements depicting company executives’ opinions on various WHM aspects; 222 questionnaires could be evaluated. By exploratory factor analysis we assigned the 26 items to six factors reflecting different attitudes toward WHM. Factor values were standardized to a scale from 0 to 10. The attitude ‘positive view of general health services in the company’, for example, achieved by far the lowest mean agreement (3.3 points). For the attitude ‘general skepticism toward WHM’, agreement and disagreement were balanced (5.0 points). Using multiple regression analyses, we searched for variables that could partially explain respondents’ agreement with attitudes. In conclusion, a general WHM skepticism was widespread, but not dominant. The idea that general health services should be offered in companies was predominantly rejected. Older respondents and respondents from smaller companies and craft enterprises were more skeptical than average about WHM and its possible extensions.

Workplace health promotion of large and medium-sized businesses

Purpose

– The purpose of this paper is to investigate the relationship between different areas of workplace health promotion (WHP) activities and predictors of the number of areas in which WHP activities are offered.

Design/methodology/approach

– A questionnaire with ten questions on WHP was mailed to the 478 largest businesses in Berlin and Brandenburg, Germany. The cross-sectional data from this survey are presented and explored using correlation and linear regression analyses.

Findings

– In total, 30 businesses, of which 90 percent offered WHP activities, participated in the survey. Businesses with WHP were, on average, active in 5.59 (SD=2.24) areas of health promotion. Offering an activity was positively correlated with offering an activity in at least one other area for all WHP areas except ergonomic workplace design (p < 0.05). Among businesses offering WHP, reporting that WHP would be strengthened with more support (−2.02, 95 percent CI: −4.04 to −0.01) and being a medium-sized business with an information need (−3.63, 95 percent CI: −5.70 to −1.57) or an opinion that health insurance companies should offer WHP (−1.96, 95 percent CI: −3.86 to −0.05) were all associated with offering activities in fewer WHP areas. In a multiple regression analysis, the information need of mid-size businesses was the only significant predictor (−5.25, 95 percent CI: −9.41 to −1.08).

Practical implications

– Addressing the information needs of medium-sized businesses concerning WHP could be an effective strategy for increasing the spectrum of WHP activities offered.

Originality/value

– This study complements existing studies by assessing associations between WHP activities and predictors of WHP activity emphasizing business size.

Patterns and predictors of workplace health promotion: cross-sectional findings from a company survey in Germany

Background

Although the popularity of workplace health promotion (WHP) has considerably increased over the years, there are still concerns about the way this concept is being implemented by the companies. There is, however, a seeming lack of empirical knowledge about variations in WHP practice. Therefore, the aim of this study was to determine the prevalence of different patterns (and related quality levels) of WHP activity and the effect of organisational predictors on the chances of these WHP activity levels being implemented.

Methods

Data from an establishment survey (N = 6,500) were used to calculate the prevalences of four configurations of WHP among German companies. Furthermore, multinominal logistic regressions were performed to determine odds ratios for these WHP activity levels according to several organisational characteristics.

Results

9% of companies exhibited the most comprehensive type of WHP including analysis, individual-directed prevention measures and participatory groups concerned with working conditions improvement (level A), 18% featured a combination of analysis and individual-directed prevention (level B), 29% had reported measures from only one of these categories (level C), and 44% showed no WHP activity at all (level D). In the multivariate analysis company size turned out to be the strongest predictor of WHP at all levels. WHP was also predicted by a good economic situation of the company, the availability of safety specialist assistance, the availability of specialist assistance in occupational health and the presence of an employee representative body. These effects usually became stronger when moving up in the hierarchy of WHP levels. For the two sector-level variables (private vs. public, production vs. services) no statistically significant associations with WHP were found.

Conclusions

WHP still shows great potential for improvement both in quantitative and qualitative terms. Especially required are additional efforts in developing and implementing WHP practice models and dissemination strategies which are tailored to the particular conditions and needs of small companies. However, findings suggest that the chances for achieving progress in WHP also depend on developments in adjacent policy areas such as labour relations or occupational safety and health.