Do working characteristics influence the participation at health measures? Findings from a trial phase of workplace health promotion

BACKGROUND: Health behavior is presumed to be influenced by organizational factors. This study analyzes how workplace characteristics influence health behavior in terms of participation at health measures. METHODS: Employees of the German Federal Ministry of Defense were surveyed at the beginning (January / February 2015) and at the end (June 2015) of the trial phase of workplace health promotion (WHP). Differences in participation of characteristic groups were calculated using Pearson’s Chi(2)-Test and T-Test, chances of participation were estimated using multilevel logistic regression. RESULTS: Employees who reported higher satisfaction with work demand participated more often in health measures (aOR: 1.02, 95%-CI = 1.01, 1.04, p < 0.001). Large amount of variance in participation can be attributed to department level. CONCLUSION: Participation at WHP varies significantly between settings after controlling for individuals’ characteristics. Thus, working characteristics should be considered as a decisive factor for WHP effectiveness. There is consensus that behavioral prevention is most effective when conditional prevention is granted as behavior is presumed to be influenced by individuals´ environmental conditions. Though objective working conditions may seem similar further context characteristics which remain unconsidered may lead to different behavior patterns. This article shows that more attention must be payed to setting specific characteristics with regard to effective Occupational Health Promotion. This project is registered by the Federal Ministry of Defense (research number: E/U2AD/ED003/EF555).