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Workplace Health Promotion in German Social Firms-Offers, Needs and Challenges from the Perspectives of Employees, Supervisors and Experts.

ABSTRACT: On the general labor market, social firms provide 30-50% of people with different types of disabilities the opportunity to gain employment. However, the topic of workplace health promotion (WHP), needs for improvement and accompanied challenges are neglected in the current research and were the focus of the present study. Therefore, data triangulation was used between July and December 2020 by combining three focus groups with employees (n = 14 employees) with 16 interviews with supervisors from several social firms in Northern Germany (e.g., from catering, cleaning or bicycle repair sectors). 17 semi-structured telephone interviews with experts in the field of WHP or social firms were added. All approaches were audio-taped, transcribed and anonymized. To analyze the data, Mayring's qualitative content analysis was used. The results indicated that several offers for WHP, including sport, nutrition and relaxation, were offered, as well as those on smoking cessation, cooperation with external organizations or training and education offers. Needs for improvement were stated referring to additional sport offers, support for implementing a healthy diet, offers for relaxation, financial incentives or collaborations with external organizations. A low take-up of offers; a lack of resources, structures or management support; compatibility of offers with work time and organization; challenges with available trainings or the consideration of individual needs and capacities were highlighted as challenges. Overall, there is a need for further interventional and longitudinal research on WHP in social firms.

SUBMITTER: Kordsmeyer AC

PROVIDER: S-EPMC8776072 | biostudies-literature |

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature

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Project description:ObjectivesTo investigate the awareness and use of health promotion offers among offshore wind workers and to study associations with demographic and workplace characteristics. To examine employees' reasons for (non-)participation and their wishes for health promotion activities offshore.DesignMixed-methods study presenting the results from semistructured telephone interviews and a web-based cross-sectional survey.SettingOffshore wind parks in the German exclusive economic zone in the North and Baltic Seas.Participants21 offshore workers in the qualitative study (19 male/2 female; all German). 303 offshore workers in the quantitative study (287 male/13 female; 275 German/24 other nationalities).Outcome measuresAwareness and use of workplace health promotion offers and associations with demographic and workplace characteristics (age, work schedule and wind park phase); reasons for (non-)participation; needs and wishes for health promotion offers.ResultsFew workers indicated being aware of health promotion programmes at their workplace. Single offers were reported, with fitness facilities being the most common offer employees recognised and had used (n=168, 55.6%). Employees with a regular work schedule were more likely to have used fitness facilities offshore (adjusted OR (AOR)=3.22, 95%?CI 1.53 to 6.80). Workers in the construction phase were more likely to have used massages (AOR=8.19, 95%?CI 2.82 to 23.77). Younger workers were less likely to belong to the group of those who were aware of fitness facilities but had not used them (AOR=0.43, 95%?CI 0.19 to 0.98). Employees expressed various needs and wishes for behavioural and environmental preventive measures offshore.ConclusionsThe results demonstrate a perceived need among the workers for the development of health promotion programmes offshore. Since the awareness and use of offers may partly depend on personal and organisational characteristics, this should be taken into account in the planning of health promotion activities.

Project description:BackgroundSocial firms are companies on the general labour market which provide employment to people with severe disabilities. In this setting different job resources are offered for its employees, including social support or flexibility in terms of working hours, tasks or pace of work. However, to date, only limited evidence exists on the work and health situation of supervisors in social firms. Therefore, the study aims to explore job demands and resources of supervisors in social firms to increase knowledge in a little researched field and to develop recommendations for action on workplace health promotion.MethodsSixteen semi-structured telephone interviews were conducted with supervisors of social firms in the North of Germany within July and November 2020. Different sectors such as gastronomy or cleaning services as well as employment opportunities for people with different types of disabilities were included. The interviews were recorded, transcribed verbatim and analysed following the qualitative content analysis according to Mayring (deductive-inductive approach).ResultsOverall, a heterogeneous composition was aimed for in terms of age and gender distribution (68.75% were male and between 32 and 60 years old). Supervisors reported various job demands in social firms, including for instance emotional demands, conflicts between social and economic objectives, conflict management, exposure to heat, heavy lifting or constant standing. In contrast, a high meaning of work, possibilities in shaping the structure of the social firm, social support of colleagues or the management and the provision of an ergonomic work environment were highlighted as job resources. Further person-related demands (e.g. own expectations) and resources (e.g. patience) were underlined as well.ConclusionFirst exploratory insights were provided with reference to job demands and resources for supervisors in social firms. The overview on working conditions underlines the significance of a supportive work environment taking structural and behavioural-related implications into account to reduce demands and strengthen resources. Further interventional research is needed regarding the development, testing and evaluation of workplace health promotion interventions in social firms.

Project description:BackgroundLow participation in health promotion programs (HPPs) might hamper their effectiveness. A potential reason for low participation is disagreement between needs and preferences of potential participants and the actual HPPs offered. This study aimed to investigate employees' need and preferences for HPPs, whether these are matched by what their employers provide, and whether a higher agreement enhanced participation.MethodsEmployees of two organizations participated in a six-month follow-up study (n = 738). At baseline, information was collected on employees' needs and preferences for the topic of the HPP (i.e. physical activity, healthy nutrition, smoking cessation, stress management, general health), whether they favored a HPP via their employer or at their own discretion, and their preferred HPP regarding three components with each two alternatives: mode of delivery (individual vs. group), intensity (single vs. multiple meetings), and content (assignments vs. information). Participation in HPPs was assessed at six-month follow-up. In consultation with occupational health managers (n = 2), information was gathered on the HPPs the employers provided. The level of agreement between preferred and provided HPPs was calculated (range: 0-1) and its influence on participation was studied using logistic regression analyses.ResultsMost employees reported needing a HPP addressing physical activity (55%) and most employees preferred HPPs organized via their employer. The mean level of agreement between the preferred and offered HPPs ranged from 0.71 for mode of delivery to 0.84 for intensity, and was 0.47 for all three HPP components within a topic combined. Employees with a higher agreement on mode of delivery (OR: 1.72, 95% CI: 0.87-3.39) and all HPP components combined (OR: 2.36, 95% CI: 0.68-8.17) seemed to be more likely to participate in HPPs, but due to low participation these associations were not statistically significant.ConclusionHPPs aimed at physical activity were most needed by employees. The majority of employees favor HPPs organized via the employer above those at their own discretion, supporting the provision of HPPs at the workplace. This study provides some indications that a higher agreement between employees' needs and preferences and HPPs made available by their employers will enhance participation.

Dataset Information

Workplace Health Promotion in German Social Firms-Offers, Needs and Challenges from the Perspectives of Employees, Supervisors and Experts.

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