Abstract
Purpose
Workplace wellness (WP) programs are an employer strategy to improve employee health and satisfaction. Their impact on productivity and benefit expense remains unclear. This study examines the association of a voluntary WP at an academic health center with both employee metrics and employer costs.
Methods
We retrospectively reviewed prospectively collected data from January 2016 to April 2018 for employees who voluntarily underwent screening for a WP at an academic medical center. We used their demographic, social, work, and clinical data to address the central research question. The primary outcomes included wellness measures from the Patient-Reported Outcomes Measurement Information System (PROMIS), secondary wellness outcomes such as body mass index, job-related outcomes such as job satisfaction, and workers’ compensation metrics such as the claim amount. The key independent variables were whether an observation was from before or after the WP. For workers’ compensation metrics, additional key independent variables were intervention/control group, and an interaction between the before/after and intervention/control variables. We conducted univariate and bivariate/unadjusted analyses, and estimated multivariable linear, logistic, and gamma regression models that also controlled for confounders.
Results
The study included 370 employees. Participation in the program was associated with significant improvements in the PROMIS pain interference, fatigue and sleep quality domains. Hip circumference diminished, and functional movement outcomes were improved. Job satisfaction improved by 4.4 percentage points (95% Confidence Interval [CI]: 0.3–8.5, p = 0.04) and self-reported productivity by 14.5 percentage points (95% Confidence Interval [CI]: 9.5–19.5, p < 0.001). The likelihood of a new compensation claim during the 12-month follow-up period fell by 10.1% (95% Confidence Interval [CI]: − 15.5 to − 4.7, p < 0.001). However, the value of a new claim was unchanged.
Conclusion
Employees who completed a WP at an academic medical center demonstrated improvements in several recognized patient-reported outcome measures, in job satisfaction and self-reported productivity, a decrease in hip circumference, an improvement in functional motion and a decreased rate of compensable injury.
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Data availability
The datasets generated during and/or analyzed during the current study are available from the corresponding author on reasonable request.
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PR, KV and CT contributed to the study’s conception and design., Data collection was performed by CD and KV, Data analysis was performed by GR, KV, PR and CT. The first draft of the manuscript was written by PR and all authors commented on previous versions of the manuscript. All authors read and approved the final manuscript.
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Paul T. Rubery, MD has no financial disclosures. Gabriel Ramirez, MS has no financial disclosures. Charles R. D’Agostino has no financial disclosures. Kostantinos Vasalos is an inventor and owner of Orthometrics™ a software used in patient functional movement assessment. Caroline Thirukumaran, PhD receives grant support from the NIH.
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Rubery, P.T., Ramirez, G., D’Agostino, C.R. et al. A workplace wellness program at an academic health center influences employee health, satisfaction, productivity and the rate of workplace injury. Int Arch Occup Environ Health 95, 1603–1632 (2022). https://doi.org/10.1007/s00420-022-01865-5
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DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s00420-022-01865-5