Walking Works Wonders: A Workplace Health Intervention Evaluated Over 24 Months

Cheryl Haslam*, Aadil Kazi, Myanna Duncan, Ricardo Twumasi, Stacy Clemes

*Corresponding author for this work

Research output: Chapter in Book/Report/Conference proceedingConference paperpeer-review

1 Citation (Scopus)

Abstract

Walking Works Wonders (WWW) is a workplace intervention designed to increase physical activity and reduce sedentary behaviour. WWW involves tailoring health information according to employees’ readiness for change. The approach recognises that when attempting to motivate behaviour change, success is greater when interventions align with recipients’ attitudes and beliefs. The impact of the tailored approach was investigated by comparing tailored interventions with standard conditions and control groups in a 24-month longitudinal study in 10 worksites across the UK. Employees who received either a standard or tailored intervention demonstrated significantly higher self-reported work ability and improved organizational commitment, job motivation, job satisfaction, and a reduction in intention to quit the organization. The tailored interventions significantly reduced BMI and waist circumference compared to standard and control conditions. Workplace health interventions designed to increase physical activity and reduce sedentary behaviour are likely to be more effective where the information is tailored to employees’ readiness to change.

Original languageEnglish
Title of host publicationProceedings of the 20th Congress of the International Ergonomics Association (IEA 2018) - Volume VII
Subtitle of host publicationErgonomics in Design, Design for All, Activity Theories for Work Analysis and Design, Affective Design
PublisherSpringer Verlag
Pages1571-1578
Number of pages8
ISBN (Print)9783319960708
DOIs
Publication statusE-pub ahead of print - 11 Aug 2018
Event20th Congress of the International Ergonomics Association, IEA 2018 - Florence, Italy
Duration: 26 Aug 201830 Aug 2018

Publication series

NameAdvances in Intelligent Systems and Computing
Volume824
ISSN (Print)2194-5357

Conference

Conference20th Congress of the International Ergonomics Association, IEA 2018
Country/TerritoryItaly
CityFlorence
Period26/08/201830/08/2018

Keywords

  • Older workers
  • Physical activity
  • Sedentary behaviour
  • Workplace health

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