Corporate wellness programmes in Singapore: effect on stress, satisfaction and absenteeism

Proactive psychological programs designed to mitigate posttraumatic stress injuries among at-risk workers: a systematic review and meta-analysis

BACKGROUND

Public safety personnel and frontline healthcare professionals are at increased risk of exposure to potentially psychologically traumatic events (PPTE) and developing posttraumatic stress injuries (PTSI, e.g., depression, anxiety) by the nature of their work. PTSI are also linked to increased absenteeism, suicidality, and performance decrements, which compromise occupational and public health and safety in trauma-exposed workers. Evidence is lacking regarding the effectiveness of "prevention" programs designed to mitigate PTSI proactively. The purpose of this review is to measure the effectiveness of proactive PTSI mitigation programs among occupational groups exposed to PPTE on measures of PTSI symptoms, absenteeism, and psychological wellness.

METHODS

Five electronic databases were searched per PRISMA guidelines for English or French peer-reviewed studies from 2008 to 2019 evaluating PTSI and psychological wellness in adults exposed to occupational PPTE. The risk of bias was assessed using the Newcastle-Ottawa Scale.

RESULTS

We identified 42 studies evaluating 3182 public safety and frontline healthcare professionals, PPTE-exposed educational staff, and miners. Significant overlap was found across program themes that included mindfulness, psychoeducation, resilience promotion, and stress management strategies. Post-program effect sizes were small (SMD < 0.5) to moderate (SMD < 0.8) for reductions in PTSI symptoms and for promoting measures of well-being as indicated by a meta-analysis on 36 studies. There was no evidence for significant reductions in substance use, absenteeism, or biomarkers of distress except for heart rate. Subgroup analyses indicated that multimodal programs effectively improved general psychological health, while resilience programs improved measures of depression, burnout, coping, and resilience. Effect sizes for resilience, depression, and general psychological health improvements were greatest immediately or 1-month post-training, while improvements in PTSD symptoms and coping were larger at longer follow-up. Studies were of moderate quality and risk of bias.

CONCLUSIONS

The current results showcase modest evidence for time-limited reductions in PTSI following participation in holistic programs that promote resilience, stress, and emotion regulation among at-risk workers. Implications for organizational implementation of proactive PTSI mitigation programs and areas of future research are discussed.

SYSTEMATIC REVIEW REGISTRATION

PROSPERO (CRD42019133534).

Work hard, play hard: Leisure satisfaction and work engagement among Turkish women1

BACKGROUND

Previous studies have found physical activity to be associated with decreased organizational cynicism and low performanceOBJECTIVE:The aim of this study was to examine work engagement and leisure satisfaction in Turkish women with regard to recreational physical activity participation and marital status, and to test the relationship between age and work experience, work engagement and leisure satisfaction.

METHODS

Utrecht Work Engagement Scale (UWES) and Leisure Satisfaction Scale (LSS) were administered to assess women workers' work engagement and leisure satisfaction. The sample for this project consisted of 317 women workers living in Turkey Ankara.

RESULTS

The analysis indicated that there were statistically significant differences in all sub-dimensions of UWES and LSS between single and married participants, with single participants having higher mean scores. There were also statistically significant differences in "vigor" and "dedication" sub-dimensions of UWES, and in all sub-dimensions of LSS regarding to recreational physical activity participation. The results demonstrated that the mean scores of physically active women are higher than the non-active group.

CONCLUSIONS

As a result, the data points to exercise participation as a rich source of information about work engagement and leisure satisfaction, and the positive use of leisure counseling as a work engagement.

The health impact of residential retreats: a systematic review

Background

Unhealthy lifestyles are a major factor in the development and exacerbation of many chronic diseases. Improving lifestyles though immersive residential experiences that promote healthy behaviours is a focus of the health retreat industry. This systematic review aims to identify and explore published studies on the health, wellbeing and economic impact of retreat experiences.

Methods

MEDLINE, CINAHL and PsychINFO databases were searched for residential retreat studies in English published prior to February 2017. Studies were included if they were written in English, involved an intervention program in a residential setting of one or more nights, and included before-and-after data related to the health of participants. Studies that did not meet the above criteria or contained only descriptive data from interviews or case studies were excluded.

Results

A total of 23 studies including eight randomised controlled trials, six non-randomised controlled trials and nine longitudinal cohort studies met the inclusion criteria. These studies included a total of 2592 participants from diverse geographical and demographic populations and a great heterogeneity of outcome measures, with seven studies examining objective outcomes such as blood pressure or biological makers of disease, and 16 studies examining subjective outcomes that mostly involved self-reported questionnaires on psychological and spiritual measures. All studies reported post-retreat health benefits ranging from immediately after to five-years post-retreat. Study populations varied widely and most studies had small sample sizes, poorly described methodology and little follow-up data, and no studies reported on health economic outcomes or adverse effects, making it difficult to make definite conclusions about specific conditions, safety or return on investment.

Conclusions

Health retreat experiences appear to have health benefits that include benefits for people with chronic diseases such as multiple sclerosis, various cancers, HIV/AIDS, heart conditions and mental health. Future research with larger numbers of subjects and longer follow-up periods are needed to investigate the health impact of different retreat experiences and the clinical populations most likely to benefit. Further studies are also needed to determine the economic benefits of retreat experiences for individuals, as well as for businesses, health insurers and policy makers.

Exergames for the corporate wellness program in Singapore: An investigation of employees' acceptance via watching Kinect video

Objective

This study aimed to explore the acceptance of exergames in a work environment and investigate influencing factors through examining a conceptual model.

Methods

After viewing a short video on playing exergames, sixty recruited working adults scored items associated with perceived usefulness, perceived ease of use, attitude toward use, and intention to use. Confirmatory factor analysis was carried out to test the measurement model, followed by structural equation modeling to estimate the path coefficients.

Results

The conceptual model was generally supported, with most of the path coefficients being statistically significant. Employees who perceived a higher level of ease of use toward exergames are more likely to have higher perceived usefulness and attitude toward use; higher perceived usefulness and attitude toward use further increases employees’ intention of use for the exergames.

Conclusion

Findings emphasized the importance of usability in affecting employees’ acceptance of exergames, thereby implying that designers should balance hedonic and utilitarian considerations in game design.

Occupational stress and its consequences

Purpose

– This study aims to identify the status of occupational stress among a sample of hospital employees in Iran. It further intended to reveal the harmful effects of occupational stress on employees’ health and well-being.

Design/methodology/approach

– The study used a cross-sectional research design. A validated questionnaire was used to collect data from hospital employees.

Findings

– Job-related, working environment, interpersonal and organisational factors were related to occupational stress. One-fourth of employees rated their occupational stress high. The major sources of occupational stress were inadequate pay, inequality at work, too much work, staff shortage, poor recognition and promotion, time pressure, job insecurity and lack of management support. High levels of occupational stress have been linked to an increased risk of physical injuries, cardiovascular disease, high blood pressure, depression and increases in negative personal behaviours such as anger, anxiety and irritability. Occupational stress was positively associated with employees’ turnover intentions.

Research limitations/implications

– The findings of this study are not generalisable to the wider population of hospital employees in Iran due to the small sample size. Thus, future research should involve additional samples.

Practical implications

– The study has practical relevance for designing and implementing strategies to decrease occupational stress among hospital employees.

Originality/value

– This article contributes to health care theory and practise by identifying factors contributing to employees’ occupational stress and examining the association between occupational stress and two important employee outcomes – health status and turnover intention.

A theory-driven evaluation of a wellness initiative

Orientation: By reporting on an evaluation of a wellness initiative, this article brings together an element of organisational development (employee wellness) with an approach to programme evaluation (programme theory-driven evaluation). Research purpose: Two questions were addressed: ‘What is the causal logic of the wellness initiative?’ and ‘Is this a plausible programme theory according to social science research and literature?’Motivation for the study: A study that could demonstrate the usefulness of the theory-driven evaluation approach, especially in the local human resource (HR) domain, was considered to be valuable. In addition, this evaluation provided a careful consideration of how plausible it is for such interventions to achieve what they set out to do.Research design, approach and method: The evaluation relied mainly on qualitative methods (the examination of secondary data and interviewing) to extract programme theory, and on literature to assess plausibility.Main findings: The study had two main outcomes: the finalisation of a model of how the programme is supposed to work according to programme staff, and the conclusion that the model is plausible, provided it is implemented at full strength.Practical/managerial implications: Programme staff are advised to pay particular attention to implementation fidelity, especially to employee participation and involvement in the programme’s activities. A number of strategies are recommended to strengthen the effect of the model.Contribution/value-add: This evaluation showed the importance of conducting a theory- driven evaluation, not only in order to understand the programme and its context, but also to provide a basis for an implementation and outcome evaluation.

Management of employee wellness in South Africa: Employer, service provider and union perspectives

Orientation: This article focuses on how South African organisations manage their employees’ wellness through their Employee Wellness Programmes (EWPs). Research purpose: The objective of this research is to describe employee wellness in South Africa by investigating the types, foci and perceived success of EWPs.Motivation for the study: Despite the growing awareness of the importance of EWPs in South Africa, the nature, content, context, participants, role-players and anticipated benefits as well as the possible drawbacks of these programmes in the South African context are unclear.Research design, approach and method: The researchers used a cross-sectional design. The first author developed the Employee Wellness Survey, consisting of quantitative and qualitative questions, to collect data from 16 organisations, four service providers and seven labour unions in South Africa.Main findings: The results showed that organisations, service providers and labour unions define employee wellness differently and that these role players give different reasons for introducing EWPs. Almost half of the participating organisations have no baseline measurement with which to compare the effectiveness of their EWPs. Generally, all the organisations present the results of their programmes reasonably. However, the programmes involve little overall expenditure to the organisations.Practical/managerial implications: Organisations should monitor the state of their employees’ wellness in order to manage it effectively. This will only become possible when information about employee wellness improves.Contribution/value-add: This study provides new information about the nature, content, context, participants, role-players, anticipated benefits and possible drawbacks of EWPs in the South-African context.