Examining the Impact of Wellness Champions on the Effectiveness of a Workplace Health and Well-Being Program

Ellis, Rebecca; Saringer, Colleen; Davis, Ashlee; Biber, Duke; Ferrer, David A

doi:10.1177/0890117120929131

Cited by 8 publications

(10 citation statements)

References 13 publications

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“…Similarly, given that BE@Work was facilitated by a researcher experienced in the delivery of groupbased exercise, the intervention may have been subject to intervention delivery agent bias. Future work could seek to train employees to deliver HIIT sessions, such as workplace wellness champions involved in previous workplace health promotion interventions (Ellis et al, 2021). Furthermore, participants in this study were healthy middle-aged adults working in officebased roles; therefore the findings cannot be extended to more diverse populations or workplaces.…”

Section: Limitationsmentioning

confidence: 99%

Brief Exercise at Work (BE@Work): A Mixed-Methods Pilot Trial of a Workplace High-Intensity Interval Training Intervention

Burn

Weston

Atkinson

et al. 2021

Front. Sports Act. Living

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Introduction: The efficacy of high-intensity interval training (HIIT) for improving markers of physical fitness and cardiometabolic health is promising. The workplace is one non-laboratory setting where the effectiveness of HIIT could be explored. The aim of this study was to undertake a mixed-methods exploratory pilot trial of a workplace HIIT intervention named Brief Exercise at Work (BE@Work).Methods: Fifty-four healthy employees (mean ± standard deviation [SD] age 46 ± 10 years) from two workplaces in Northeast England were allocated to 8 weeks of thrice-weekly workplace HIIT based on boxing, stair climbing and stepping, comprising 4–7 60 s high-intensity intervals interspersed with 75 s rest (n = 30), or a no-intervention control (n = 24). The primary outcome was the change SD of predicted maximal oxygen consumption (VO2max). Markers of physical fitness, cardiometabolic health and mental well-being were also measured at baseline and follow-up. Participant perceptions of the intervention were explored in post-intervention focus groups (n = 9).Results: Mean (±SD) session attendance was 82% (±15%). Mean peak heart rate across the intervention was 87% of age-predicted maximal heart rate with a within- and between-subject SD of 5.5% and 3.7%, respectively. The SD of changes in predicted VO2max was 6.6 mL·kg−1·min−1 across both groups, which can be used to inform sample size estimations for a future full trial. The control-adjusted mean increase (95% confidence interval) in predicted VO2max was 3.9 (−0.2 to 8.1) mL·kg−1·min−1, corresponding to a Cohen's D of 0.47. We also observed preliminary evidence of small to moderate effects in favour of the intervention group for non-dominant leg extensor muscle power, markers of health-related quality of life, well-being and perceived stress and small to moderate effects in favour of the controls in perceived pain, physical activity and high-density lipoprotein cholesterol. During HIIT, focus group participants reported physiological responses they perceived as unpleasant or tiring (e.g., breathlessness, local muscular fatigue), but also that they felt alert and energised afterwards.Conclusion: The findings of this exploratory pilot trial support the implementation of a definitive randomised controlled trial to quantify the effectiveness of a workplace HIIT intervention.

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Section: Limitationsmentioning

confidence: 99%

Brief Exercise at Work (BE@Work): A Mixed-Methods Pilot Trial of a Workplace High-Intensity Interval Training Intervention

Burn

Weston

Atkinson

et al. 2021

Front. Sports Act. Living

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

show abstract

“…Moreover, there was a facilitative effect whereby managers advocated and actively recruited participants for the intervention. Although there was an element that being a PC was perceived as part of the work role [36] . Nudges are a popular strategy to help people make changes to their behaviours and our findings support the contention that they can be employed in workplaces [17] .…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…Participants then followed the same routine as those who voluntarily decided to stand and move. To support the behaviour change process, the design incorporated work managers across sections of the organisation to act as voluntary PC to model the new health behaviour during work [36] . PC completed a two-hour training session with a curriculum content of; education about the health concerns associated with prolonged sitting and sedentary behaviour, the design of the intervention, use of the software and time for PC to ask clarifying questions.…”

Section: Methodsmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…All training took place in two venues on consecutive days. PC acting as role models for new workplace behaviour can facilitate and enhance social support and acceptance for new workplace behaviours [36] . Moreover, PC enhance fellow workers' feelings of efficacy associated with maintaining new behaviour [10] , thus mitigating feelings of negative affect [36] .…”

Section: Methodsmentioning

confidence: 99%

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Peer champions responses to nudge-based strategies designed to reduce prolonged sitting behaviour: Lessons learnt and implications from lived experiences of non-compliant participants

Cooley

Mainsbridge

Cruickshank

et al. 2022

AIMSPH

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<abstract> <p>Occupational sedentariness is problematic for office-based workers because of their prolonged sitting periods and the advent of technology which reduces work-based movement. A common workplace strategy to deal with this preventable health risk is to have workers engage in brief movement breaks throughout the workday. To date, the use of interventions underpinned by individual self-regulation has had less than optimal impact on changing workers sedentary work behaviours. An alternative design for workplace interventions is the use of nudge theory. Nudge theory incorporates strategies that are delivered at the point of choice designed to influence individual decision making regarding alternative behaviour options. In this study, desk-based workers were exposed to two nudge strategies which suggested alternative behaviours of regular standing and taking movement breaks during work periods to the default behaviours of prolonged sitting and sedentary work behaviour. A small group of women managers who served as peer champions (n = 6), withdrew early from the study, and then took part in an exit interview to gain an understanding of their experiences of being exposed to the two nudge strategies. Verbatim transcripts were analysed using inductive, reflexive thematic analysis. Two major themes with seven second order themes central to their experiences were extracted: facilitative behaviour and feelings (advocacy, acceptance & facilitative burden) and dysfunctional behaviours and feelings (dysfunctional behaviour & feelings, control, reactance & presenteeism). Participants initially perceived a positive exchange associated with exposure to nudge strategies. Yet, participants' emotional connection to their work roles and behaviour were perceived as a negative exchange. Participants cited numerous maladaptive feelings because of a perception of incongruency with the established work normative behaviour. These findings reveal that nudge strategies of reduced choice and social norms are viable, but perceptions of monitoring can moderate adherence.</p> </abstract>

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“…Shapiro–Wilk and Levene’s tests were used to verify data normality and the homogeneity of variances at each time point. Trait EI data were analyzed: (a) using correlational analysis with recovery stress states scores on the total sample; and (b) by dividing its scores into either a high or low group based on the median value, a common practice within the literature [ 46 , 47 , 48 ]. While dichotomization is sometimes criticized in the literature [ 49 ], recent re-evaluations have shown that this practice is a robust, reliable, and appropriate statistical analysis when independent variables are uncorrelated [ 46 , 47 , 48 ].…”

Section: Methodsmentioning

confidence: 99%

Emotional Intelligence in Ultra-Marathon Runners: Implications for Recovery Strategy and Stress Responses during an Ultra-Endurance Race

Marilleau

Gaudino

Bagneux

et al. 2022

IJERPH

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The aim of this research was to investigate the role of trait emotional intelligence (EI) in recovery stress states in a mountain ultra-marathon (MUM) race. Recovery stress states of 13 finishers were assessed before, during, and immediately after the end of an extreme MUM, whereas emotional intelligence was assessed 2 days before the MUM race. Temporal evolutions of recovery stress states were examined. Stress states increased after the race whereas recovery states decreased in all participants. In addition, recovery states were influenced by the trait EI level assessed before the competition. Results supported the hypothesis that trait EI tends to have a positive effect by boosting recovery strategies. In this perspective, trait EI could have a protective role against stress and improve pre-competition mental preparation. High scores of trait EI (in comparison to low scores of trait EI) could have helped athletes to increase recovery states in order to improve their psychological adaptation to one of the most difficult races in the world.

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Examining the Impact of Wellness Champions on the Effectiveness of a Workplace Health and Well-Being Program

Cited by 8 publications

References 13 publications

Brief Exercise at Work (BE@Work): A Mixed-Methods Pilot Trial of a Workplace High-Intensity Interval Training Intervention

Brief Exercise at Work (BE@Work): A Mixed-Methods Pilot Trial of a Workplace High-Intensity Interval Training Intervention

Peer champions responses to nudge-based strategies designed to reduce prolonged sitting behaviour: Lessons learnt and implications from lived experiences of non-compliant participants

Emotional Intelligence in Ultra-Marathon Runners: Implications for Recovery Strategy and Stress Responses during an Ultra-Endurance Race

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