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Background: Since presenteeism is related to numerous negative health and work-related effects, measures are required to reduce it. There are initial indications that how an organization deals with health has a decisive influence on employees’ presenteeism behavior.Aims: The concept of health-promoting collaboration was developed on the basis of these indications. As an extension of healthy leadership it includes not only the leader but also co-workers. In modern forms of collaboration, leaders cannot be assigned sole responsibility for employees’ health, since the leader is often hardly visible (digital leadership) or there is no longer a clear leader (shared leadership). The study examines the concept of health-promoting collaboration in relation to presenteeism. Relationships between health-promoting collaboration, well-being and work ability are also in focus, regarding presenteeism as a mediator.Methods: The data comprise the findings of a quantitative survey of 308 employees at a German university of applied sciences. Correlation and mediator analyses were conducted.Results: The results show a significant negative relationship between health-promoting collaboration and presenteeism. Significant positive relationships were found between health-promoting collaboration and both well-being and work ability. Presenteeism was identified as a mediator of these relationships.Conclusion: The relevance of health-promoting collaboration in reducing presenteeism was demonstrated and various starting points for practice were proposed. Future studies should investigate further this newly developed concept in relation to presenteeism.

Zusammenfassung Hintergrund Empirische Studien zeigen, dass mehr als zwei Drittel der Beschäftigten trotz Krankheit zur Arbeit gehen. Dieser sog. Präsentismus bringt sowohl gesundheitliche und motivationale Risiken für die Mitarbeiter als auch wirtschaftliche Risiken für die Organisation mit sich. Ziel der Arbeit Die durchgeführten Studien fokussieren Möglichkeiten zur Verringerung der negativen gesundheitlichen Effekte und entwickeln Maßnahmen zur generellen Vermeidung von Präsentismus am spezifischen Setting Hochschule. Methode An einer deutschen Hochschule erfolgte eine quantitative Befragung (n = 308) zur Prävalenz von Präsentismus, dessen Zusammenhang mit körperlichen Beschwerden untersucht wurde. Weiterhin wurden potenziell moderierende Effekte der Ressourcen Erholung, Achtsamkeit und Work-Life-Balance (WLB) betrachtet. Eine qualitative Studie explorierte auf Grundlage von Interviews (n = 11, qualitative Inhaltsanalyse) Gründe für Präsentismus und potenzielle Maßnahmen, um diesem entgegenzuwirken. Ergebnisse Die quantitativen Ergebnisse zeigen, dass Präsentismus im Hochschulkontext vertreten ist und körperliche Beschwerden begünstigt. Die Ressourcen Erholung, Achtsamkeit und WLB können bei hoher Ausprägung die negativen gesundheitlichen Effekte von Präsentismus abschwächen. Bei niedriger Ausprägung verstärken sie die Effekte. Die qualitative Analyse machte deutlich, dass quantitative Arbeitsbelastung, Pflichtgefühl sowie das Gefühl, noch leistungsfähig zu sein, zentrale Gründe für Präsentismus sind und zum Beispiel die Unterstützung eines gesundheitsförderlichen Organisationsklimas oder Vertretungsregelungen geeignete Gegenmaßnahmen darstellen. Diskussion Die Ergebnisse werden vor dem Hintergrund verhaltens- und verhältnispräventiver Maßnahmen diskutiert und praktische Implikationen abgeleitet.

Research has identified nudging as a promising and effective tool to improve healthy eating behavior in a cafeteria setting. However, it remains unclear who is and who is not “nudgeable” (susceptible to nudges). An important influencing factor at the individual level is nudge acceptance. While some progress has been made in determining influences on the acceptance of healthy eating nudges, research on how personal characteristics (such as the perception of social norms) affect nudge acceptance remains scarce. We conducted a survey on 1032 university students to assess the acceptance of nine different types of healthy eating nudges in a cafeteria setting with four influential factors (social norms, health-promoting collaboration, responsibility to promote healthy eating, and procrastination). These factors are likely to play a role within a university and a cafeteria setting. The present study showed that key influential factors of nudge acceptance were the perceived responsibility to promote healthy eating and health-promoting collaboration. We also identified three different student clusters with respect to nudge acceptance, demonstrating that not all nudges were accepted equally. In particular, default, salience, and priming nudges were at least moderately accepted regardless of the degree of nudgeability. Our findings provide useful policy implications for nudge development by university, cafeteria, and public health officials. Recommendations are formulated for strengthening the theoretical background of nudge acceptance and the susceptibility to nudges.

Many people do not consume as much healthy food as recommended. Nudging has been identified as a promising intervention strategy to increase the consumption of healthy food. The present study analyzed the effects of three body shape nudges (thin, thick, or Giacometti artwork) on food ordering and assessed the mediating role of being aware of the nudge. Students (686) and employees (218) of a German university participated in an online experimental study. After randomization, participants visited a realistic online cafeteria and composed a meal for themselves. Under experimental conditions, participants were exposed to one out of three nudges while choosing dishes: (1) thin body shape, (2) thick body shape, and (3) the Giacometti artwork nudge. The Giacometti nudge resulted in more orders for salad among employees. The thin and thick body shape nudges did not change dish orders. Awareness of the nudge mediated the numbers of calories ordered when using the Giacometti or thin body shape nudges. These findings provide useful insights for health interventions in occupational and public health sectors using nudges. Our study contributes to the research on the Giacometti nudge by showing its effectiveness when participants are aware (it is effective under conditions where it is consciously perceived).