Search Results (5)

Micro- and small-sized enterprises (MSE), and small- and medium-sized enterprises (SME) in Germany are often burdened with high levels of psychosocial stressors at work. The IMPROVEjob intervention was originally developed for general practice teams, and aims to promote job satisfaction and reduce psychosocial stressors in the context of workplace health management (WHM). This qualitative study identified challenges and transfer options regarding the transfer of the IMPROVEjob intervention to other MSE/SME settings. Based on previous study results, a comprehensive, qualitative inter- and transdisciplinary approach was developed and conducted between July 2020 and June 2021, also including single interviews and focus group discussion with eleven experts from MSE/SME settings. Data analysis was carried out using a rapid analysis approach. The experts discussed psychosocial topics and didactic formats of the original IMPROVEjob intervention. A lack of access to information on managing work-related psychosocial stressors and inadequate recognition of the importance of psychosocial stressors in the workplace among managers and employees, seemed to be the highest barriers regarding the transfer of the intervention into other MSE/SME settings. The transfer of the IMPROVEjob intervention to other MSE/SME settings requires an adapted intervention format, comprising targeted offers with easy access to information on managing work-related psychosocial stressors and improving WHM in MSE/SME settings. Full article

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. Full article

Mobile work is becoming increasingly common, and it has been, consequently, associated with new health-related hazards and resources. Our study examined health-related stresses, strains and resources of mobile work in a medium-sized company. The study aimed to generate implications for a work agreement and for workplace health management (WHM). For this, a multi-method longitudinal study (2019–20) was conducted, with 29 focus group and 6 individual interviews (absolute number of all participants N = 187). It was designed as a qualitative content analysis and theoretically based on the job demands-resources model (JD-R). Positive effects (e.g., increased work–life balance, higher concentration), as well as negative consequences (e.g., alienation in the team, communication effort), can be found. Numerous fields of action for both the work agreement and WHM could be identified. For example, the work agreement regulates the equipment for working from home with support from WHM in order to ensure occupational health-oriented selection and handling, or by fixing core working hours through the work agreement and supporting competence building for leaders in order to enable flexible work commitments for employees. Self-organised work at home can be supported both by rules in the service agreement and by building up self-management skills through the WHM’s offers. The findings illustrate that a work agreement can make a relevant contribution to a healthy design of mobile work by systematically linking it with WHM. The synergies between work agreement, employee health and WHM become clear. Full article

Studies show that workplace health promotion (WHP) can reduce sickness-related absenteeism among employees and secure long-term workability. Embedding WHP in workplace health management (WHM) can contribute to sustainability and holism. This study aimed to investigate organizational framework conditions for WHM in different settings of nursing in Germany (acute care hospital, long-term care (LTC) facilities and home-based LTC). In a project on WHM implementation, managers with personnel responsibility for nurses (n = 16) were surveyed. In total, 46 close-ended questions on organizational framework conditions of WHM in their care facility were answered at the beginning of the project. No significant differences were found for the indexes of health promoting willingness, health promoting management, social capital and workplace health activity. Descriptive analysis showed that home-based LTC performed slightly better on average. Home-based LTC and LTC facilities had higher ratings in health promoting willingness than in actually managing the process (health promoting management), while the results for acute care hospitals were reversed. Acute care hospitals showed the lowest values for the topics of health as a leadership topic and evaluation of incidents of violence, which were generally rated lower among all settings. Need for action can be identified in improving personal, financial and time resources, evaluation and information on WHM. Full article

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. Full article