The Role of Managers in Employee Wellness Programs: A Mixed-Methods Study

The purpose of this study is to evaluate managers' barriers and facilitators to supporting employee participation in the Washington State Wellness program.

Exploratory sequential mixed methods.

Four Washington State agencies located in Olympia and Tumwater, Washington.

State employees in management positions (executive, middle, and line), whose job includes supervision of subordinates and responsibility for the performance and conduct of a subunit or group.

We interviewed 23 managers and then used the results to create a survey that was fielded to all managers at the 4 agencies. The survey response rate was 65% (n = 607/935).

We used qualitative coding techniques to analyze interview transcripts and descriptive statistics to summarize survey data. We used the Total Worker Health framework to organize our findings and conclusions.

Managers support the wellness program, but they also face challenges with accommodating employees' participation due to workload, scheduling inflexibility, and self-efficacy to discuss wellness with direct reports. About half the managers receive support from the manager above them, and most have not received training on the wellness program.

Our findings point to several strategies that can strengthen managers' role in supporting the wellness program: the provision of training, targeted messages, formal expectations, and encouragement (from the manager above) to support employees' participation.