Abstract
(1) Background: Increasing stress levels at the workplace constitute a concerning organizational trend, challenging not only employees but also organizations alike, as it is in most instances associated with increasing workloads. In consequence, employees have started to demand that organizations begin to accept responsibility for their health and well-being. The present contribution seeks to investigate, to which extent individuals are able to deal with stress and whether their employers and respective supervisors (leaders) accept responsibility for their health, for instance, by leading by example. In addition, the existence and support generated by the organization in form of Workplace Health Promotion (WPHP) is inquired. (2) Methods: Semi-structured qualitative interviews with 40 (full and part-time) employees from two European countries were conducted. (3) Results: The study with employees from Austria and Germany (n = 40) confirmed that employees have started to recognize the potential of the workplace as an environment, where individual health can be enhanced. Yet, the results showed that only a few companies have already put some WPHP measures into practice. Likewise, the implementation of healthy leadership is rather limited to date. (4) Conclusions: At present, companies are still more likely to delegate responsibility for employee health and well-being to their staff, having not fully realized the potential of healthy leadership and organizational health promotion. There is great potential to increase WPHP measures on the employer side, through both healthy leadership and supporting WPHP measures.
Highlights
(3) Results: The study with employees from Austria and Germany (n = 40) confirmed that employees have started to recognize the potential of the workplace as an environment, where individual health can be enhanced
The results showed that only a few companies have already put some Workplace Health Promotion (WPHP)
Our study provided useful insights into employees’ perceptions of who is responsible for their health, as well as insights into healthy leadership tendencies and WPHP measures, which have already been established by companies in Germany and Austria
Summary
Publisher’s Note: MDPI stays neutral with regard to jurisdictional claims in published maps and institutional affiliations. Increasing stress levels at the workplace constitute a concerning organizational trend [1,2,3,4]. The 2020 Trends Report on Well-Being at Work concluded that work is taking its toll on people and their health, respectively [5]. Work has been listed amongst the top three sources of stress [6]. Work-related stress was found to have effects on individuals’ health, leading to sleep deprivation or mental health issues amongst others [3,7] and negatively affecting employees’ private lives [1,2]. The Stress Awareness Month 2020 was dedicated to identifying and alleviating
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