Screening for unhealthy lifestyle factors in the workplace

To examine (1) the prevalence of four lifestyle behaviours among Australia Post employees and (2) employees' perceptions of the role of the workplace in promotion of lifestyle change.

A cross-sectional survey using a self-administered questionnaire involved 688 employees working in Australia Post throughout metropolitan Sydney.

Prevalence related to age and sex of alcohol consumption, cigarette smoking, inadequate exercise, perception of excessive weight.

36% of men and 11% of women reported drinking alcohol at levels considered hazardous or harmful; 33% of men and 25% of women reported smoking; 51% of men and 62% of women thought they were overweight; 30% of men and 39% of women did not exercise regularly. Younger respondents were more likely to report drinking hazardously or harmfully, were smokers and had multiple risk factors. A majority of respondents thought that their employer should be interested in employee's lifestyle issues, particularly excessive drinking (63%). However, few considered seeking advice from the workplace regarding smoking (16%), weight (25%) and excessive alcohol consumption (12%).

These results show that many of Australia Post employees have unhealthy lifestyle behaviours. While employees perceive that the workplace has an important role in promoting healthy lifestyles among staff, few are presently willing to seek advice from the workplace regarding these issues. Promotion of healthy lifestyles in Australian workplaces is a potentially important public health advance that could reduce the incidence of diseases associated with high-risk lifestyle behaviours.