Effects of an employee exercise programme on mental health
N D Emerson1,2, D A Merrill1, K Shedd3
1Department of Psychiatry and Biobehavioral Sciences, University of California, Los Angeles (UCLA), Los Angeles, CA 90095, USA.
Background:
Prior research indicates that workplace wellness programmes (WWPs) are generally associated with lowered healthcare costs and improved employee health. Despite the importance of mental well-being in workplace productivity and attendance, few WWP studies have focused on improvements in psychological well-being.
Aims:
To examine the effects of the Bruin Health Improvement Program (BHIP), a 3-month exercise and nutrition WWP, on seven domains of health: physical and mental health, stress, energy level, social satisfaction, self-efficacy and quality of life.
Methods:
Using data from BHIP completers, we conducted multiple one-way multivariate analyses of variance and follow-up univariate t-tests to examine changes in physical and mental health, stress, energy level, social satisfaction, self-efficacy and quality of life. Effect sizes were also calculated post hoc to determine the magnitude of each effect.
Results:
Results for the 281 participants reveal significant improvements across all seven domains (P < 0.001). Effect sizes ranged from 0.19 to 0.67.
Conclusions:
This study is unique in revealing the effects of a WWP on multiple domains of psychological well-being. Given rising healthcare costs associated with mental health, targeting mental health through WWP may be an effective strategy for reducing indirect healthcare costs associated with absenteeism and presenteeism.
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