Studying worksite factors in employee safety, health and well-being

Multiple factors within worksites interact to affect the safety, health and well-being of employees. We study worksite health using Total Worker Health^® (TWH) principles. These principles acknowledge that organizational, physical and psychosocial work conditions can affect individuals’ health and workforce productivity.

We address policies, programs and practices that provide protection from work-related safety and health hazards, while also promoting prevention of injury and illness, to improve worker well-being. Studies address:

Health behaviors and employee productivity
Physical and emotional health benefits of reducing prolonged sitting at work
The use of measurement tools aimed at integrating employee safety and health
Changing the work environment (physical, social, economic) to improve worker well-being outcomes as well as organizational performance indicators

Investigators

Key projects and partners

NIOSH Total Worker Health^® Affiliate Program

The National Institute of Occupational Safety and Health (NIOSH) accepted HealthPartners Institute as a NIOSH Total Worker Health Affiliate Program in 2018. Our strong track record of research and education supports the Total Worker Health concept, making this affiliate status a great fit. This program fosters an integrated approach to protecting and promoting worker well-being through collaborations with academic, labor, nonprofit and government organizations.

Integrated practice guidelines

We worked with the Harvard T.H. Chan School of Public Health’s Center for Work, Health and Well-Being in the research, evaluation and implementation of integrated solutions for safety health and well-being. The center works to protect and promote workers’ well-being through integrated worksite policies, programs and practices. All are designed to foster a safe, healthy workplace environment.

Through multiple studies, we implemented the practice guidelines to address total worker health. The approach generates physical (safety hazards) and psychosocial (health and safety culture) recommendations. Our collaboration with Harvard includes dissemination and implementation studies in partnership with the HealthPartners health plan and its employer customers.

The physical activity paradox

Physical activity is known to be good for one’s health. Accordingly, physical activity promotion is a major focus of public health initiatives and worksite health promotion programs. However, emerging evidence shows that perhaps not all physical activity is created equal. Reports of recent investigations demonstrate that the context and setting in which physical activity is experienced is an important consideration. The occupational physical activity (OPA) domain appears to be positively related to ill-health outcomes, such as illness absence, cardiovascular disease and all-cause mortality. This new evidence is referred to as the “physical activity paradox.” In collaboration with others, our studies note how best to translate available evidence into guidance for employers and what recommendations make sense for the worksite setting.

Finland collaboration for well-designed worksite health programs

Institute research has previously identified program design principles that are associated with successful implementation outcomes. These design principles were implemented in a large employer group in Finland, and the study tracked the employees over the course of eight years. In collaboration with researchers at the University of Jyväskylä, Tampere University, and the University of Eastern Finland, this study has documented successful implementation and impact. Work continues in the area of economic benefit and the value proposition of well-designed worksite health programs.

Worksite health promotion practice column in ACSM’s Health & Fitness Journal

The American College of Sports Medicine’s (ACSM) Health & Fitness Journal is dedicated to supporting health and fitness professionals with credible, readable and applicable information about research in sports medicine, exercise science, and health and fitness-related practices. Since 2003, the journal features a column dedicated to worksite health promotion edited by Nico Pronk, PhD, from HealthPartners Institute. Each year, three columns are published that specifically focus on the workplace as a setting for the promotion of health and well-being.

Key publications

Learn more about our Worksite and Occupational Health investigators and their publications by visiting Knowledge Exchange.

Worksite and occupational health