Can Workplace Wellness be Reliably Scored and Quantified to Become Slim by Design?

Abstract

ObjectiveIs your workplace making you heavy or healthy? Using principles of behavioral economics and psychology, 100 changes were identified as actions that workplaces could take to make it easier for workers to eat better, exercise more, and experience less stress. This research examines if a scorecard containing such actions could be reliably used to rate whether a workplace is making its workers healthy or heavy.Design, Setting and ParticipantsTwelve coders were given both 10-point and 100-point scorecards and asked to score a large white-collar employer. Half of them had received 15 minutes of training on how to use the scorecard and half did not.Outcome Measures and AnalysisInner-rater reliability of those who had seen training compared to those who had not.ResultsWhen coders had received training, the reliability of using the Slim by Design scorecard was high (alpha = .93 vs. .82). The source of inconsistencies among the untrained group was because there were multiple cafeterias and breakrooms at the workplace and people often rated different ones.Conclusions and ImplicationsWorkplace wellness scorecards can reliably quantify workplace wellness efforts. A person with no training can confidently use such scorecards to rate their employer to see how it compares with others. Because of this reliability, it can also be useful in suggesting what the employer could do to improve wellness.FundingCornell Food and Brand Lab. ObjectiveIs your workplace making you heavy or healthy? Using principles of behavioral economics and psychology, 100 changes were identified as actions that workplaces could take to make it easier for workers to eat better, exercise more, and experience less stress. This research examines if a scorecard containing such actions could be reliably used to rate whether a workplace is making its workers healthy or heavy. Is your workplace making you heavy or healthy? Using principles of behavioral economics and psychology, 100 changes were identified as actions that workplaces could take to make it easier for workers to eat better, exercise more, and experience less stress. This research examines if a scorecard containing such actions could be reliably used to rate whether a workplace is making its workers healthy or heavy. Design, Setting and ParticipantsTwelve coders were given both 10-point and 100-point scorecards and asked to score a large white-collar employer. Half of them had received 15 minutes of training on how to use the scorecard and half did not. Twelve coders were given both 10-point and 100-point scorecards and asked to score a large white-collar employer. Half of them had received 15 minutes of training on how to use the scorecard and half did not. Outcome Measures and AnalysisInner-rater reliability of those who had seen training compared to those who had not. Inner-rater reliability of those who had seen training compared to those who had not. ResultsWhen coders had received training, the reliability of using the Slim by Design scorecard was high (alpha = .93 vs. .82). The source of inconsistencies among the untrained group was because there were multiple cafeterias and breakrooms at the workplace and people often rated different ones. When coders had received training, the reliability of using the Slim by Design scorecard was high (alpha = .93 vs. .82). The source of inconsistencies among the untrained group was because there were multiple cafeterias and breakrooms at the workplace and people often rated different ones. Conclusions and ImplicationsWorkplace wellness scorecards can reliably quantify workplace wellness efforts. A person with no training can confidently use such scorecards to rate their employer to see how it compares with others. Because of this reliability, it can also be useful in suggesting what the employer could do to improve wellness. Workplace wellness scorecards can reliably quantify workplace wellness efforts. A person with no training can confidently use such scorecards to rate their employer to see how it compares with others. Because of this reliability, it can also be useful in suggesting what the employer could do to improve wellness.