Abstract
Managers often face stress and high work demands. Yet they have received limited attention as targets of workplace health promotion measures (HPMs). This study’s primary objective (1) is to examine managers’ self-reported participation in HPMs and factors associated with HPM participation. The secondary objective (2) is to examine managers’ perceptions of their working conditions. A cross-sectional mixed-methods online survey was conducted with a nonrandom sample of 179 managers in a large German ICT company. Stepwise logistic regression and qualitative content analysis were used for data analysis. Quantitative findings revealed that 57.9% of managers had not participated in HPMs yet. “Workload relief through digital tools” resulted as a significant predictor of managers’ previous HPM participation (OR: 2.84, 95% CI: 1.42–5.66). In qualitative findings, workload, time, lack of knowledge, and lack of demand were reported as participation barriers (1). Managers reported that work facility traits, workload, social support, and corporate culture should be improved to make their working conditions more health-promoting (2). These findings suggest that providing adequate organizational working conditions may help improve managers’ HPM participation rates and their perception of health-promoting work.
Highlights
Despite researchers’ agreement that managers should be role models regarding healthpromoting behavior [1], we know little about managers’ participation in workplace health promotion measures (HPMs)
We found that managers, who thought digital tools help relieve their daily workload, were 2.9 times more likely to have participated in HPMs before
Managers reported that work facility traits, high workload, social support, and corporate culture should be improved to make their working conditions more health-promoting
Summary
Despite researchers’ agreement that managers should be role models regarding healthpromoting behavior [1], we know little about managers’ participation in workplace health promotion measures (HPMs). Stress [4,7,8,9], and the challenge of leading digital transition in organizations [10,11,12], making them special targets for HPMs. Workplace health promotion is defined by all joint measures of employers, employees, and society aimed at improving health and wellbeing at the workplace [13,14]. While the participation rate in HPMs is a key indicator for their effectiveness, it typically amounts to only 20–40% of staff participating [15,16]. Some previous findings suggest that managers are more likely to participate in HPMs or report
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