The Role of Leadership Support for Health Promotion in Employee Wellness Program Participation, Perceived Job Stress, and Health Behaviors

Abstract

Purpose: The purpose of the study was to explore the relationship between leadership support for health promotion and job stress, wellness program participation, and health behaviors. Design: A cross-sectional survey design was used. Setting: Four worksites with a range of wellness programs were selected for this study. Participants: Participants in this study were employees (n = 618) at 4 organizations (bank, private university, wholesale supplier, and public university) in the southeastern United States, each offering an employee wellness program. Response rates in each organization ranged from 3% to 34%. Measures: Leadership support for health promotion was measured with the Leading by Example instrument. Employee participation in wellness activities, job stress, and health behaviors were measured with multi-item scales. Analysis: Correlation/regression analysis and descriptive statistics were used to analyze the relationships among the scaled variables. Results: Employees reporting higher levels of leadership support for health promotion also reported higher levels of wellness activity participation, lower job stress, and greater levels of health behavior ( P = .001). To ascertain the amount of variance in health behaviors accounted for by the other variables in the study, a hierarchical regression analysis revealed a statistically significant model (model F7,523 = 27.28; P = .001), with leadership support for health promotion (β = .19, t = 4.39, P = .001), wellness activity participation (β = .28, t = 6.95, P < .001), and job stress (β = −.27, t = −6.75, P ≤ .001) found to be significant predictors of health behaviors in the model. Exploratory regression analyses by organization revealed the focal variables as significant model predictors for only the 2 larger organizations with well-established wellness programs. Conclusion: Results from the study suggest that employees’ perceptions of organizational leadership support for health promotion are related to their participation in wellness activities, perceived job stress levels, and health behaviors.