Behavioral Interventions to Improve Home-Based Office-Workers’ Health

Abstract

Many organizations have traditionally supported their employees’ physical and mental health through a variety of office-based programs and interventions. The shift from in-office work to working from home, which has been accelerated by the COVID-19 pandemic, requires organizations to update their toolbox to continue supporting a healthy and happy workforce. In this paper, we review research on successful, evidence-based interventions in four key areas of physical and mental health: physical activity and sedentary behavior, nutrition, loneliness, and stress. We show how organizations could adapt these interventions to a home-based office environment and conclude by highlighting areas of future research, as well as by discussing the role of health professionals and policymakers in designing effective interventions for the future of work.

Remote workers' experiences with electronic monitoring during Covid-19: implications and recommendations

“…Surveys can provide important insights into the mental health status of the workforce, although it is often difficult to disentangle the impact of work and work conditions on mental health (CIPD, 2020). In addition, aspects such as loneliness, isolation, depression and insomnia are aspects that may not always be apparent to managers, although they seemed to increase among many workers during the pandemic (Bartmann et al, 2022;Jamal et al, 2021;Wang et al, 2021). It is therefore important that there is room for these discussions IJWHM to occur and identify suitable interventions that can be rolled out to all employees, remote or on site.…”

“…Another example includes the role of managers in supporting relationship building during onboarding, during meetings and other interactions to increase bonding between people (Bartmann et al, 2022). Role modeling behaviors, such as expressing gratitude, sharing experiences and disclosing, struggle can help remote workers build stronger relationships and enable them to exchange strategies on how to cope with certain challenges (Bartmann et al, 2022). Such activities should not be delegated exclusively to HR and health professionals; indeed, managers and leaders can also play an important role in setting up opportunities that allow employees to exchange experiences, learn from one another and promote well-being by fostering a sense of belonging and team cohesion (see also Wang et al, 2021).…”

“…In addition, some recent research has informed specific guidance on behavioral interventions that can help to improve the health of remote workers (e.g. Bartmann et al , 2022). As a result, many employers have adopted a variety of different approaches during the pandemic, from online daily live workouts, “Ask the Trainer” Q&A sessions, “Workout of the Day” videos and weekly live well-being chats with health professionals (Wyatt, 2020).…”

“…While employee monitoring can contribute to sedentary behavior due to the pressure to be present in front of various devices, these tools can also generate important insights for health professionals as well as managers. By involving health professionals in the analysis of monitoring data, employers can set appropriate performance standards that enable employees to get the breaks they need and to prevent musculoskeletal as well as visual strain that may arise due to repetitive movements, long-term sedentary work on screen and insufficient breaks (see also Bartmann et al , 2022; Mojtahedzadeh et al. , 2021).…”

“…Another example includes the role of managers in supporting relationship building during onboarding, during meetings and other interactions to increase bonding between people (Bartmann et al , 2022). Role modeling behaviors, such as expressing gratitude, sharing experiences and disclosing, struggle can help remote workers build stronger relationships and enable them to exchange strategies on how to cope with certain challenges (Bartmann et al , 2022).…”