Planning engagement with web resources to improve health habits among home-working employees

BACKGROUND AND OBJECTIVES: The increasing popularity of remote work makes the implementation of health promotion initiatives at the workplace challenging, particularly in bridging the gap between employees’ intentions to adopt healthier habits and their actual actions. Previous evidence suggests that action planning can foster the adoption of healthier behaviors. Therefore, we investigated action planning in the context of reducing sedentary behaviour and improving dietary quality for remote workers. METHODS: A mixed-methods investigation of a web-based self-help intervention featured a randomized planning trial, quantitative engagement measurements, and follow-up qualitative interviews with a participant subset. For one work week, participants received access to 2-minute workout videos to reduce sedentary time and a balanced meal approach with recipe cards for weekly lunches and dinners. The intervention group was given a motion plan and a meal plan to execute these actions, while the control group only obtained access to the resources. RESULTS: Having a motion plan proved more effective in increasing engagement with online resources compared to the condition with no plan. In the follow-up interviews, participants noted that the plan served as a reminder to engage with the resources and simplified adherence to the exercise and meal recommendations. Ease of use and the ability to incorporate exercises and meals around work tasks were crucial factors in promoting resource adoption, while time constraints and concerns about colleagues’ perceptions of taking breaks to utilize the resources hindered adoption. Participants’ self-efficacy correlated with overall resource use but not with plan adherence. CONCLUSIONS: Incorporating plans (motion and meals) into online self-help resources could boost their adoption and improve lifestyles among remote workers. KEY MESSAGES: • Incorporating plans (motion and meals) into online self-help resources could boost their adoption and improve lifestyles among remote workers. • Ease of use and the ability to incorporate exercises and meals around work tasks were found to be facilitators of adoption.