Employees' perceptions of the impact of work on health behaviours

J Health Psychol. 2013 Jul;18(7):887-99. doi: 10.1177/1359105312446772. Epub 2012 Sep 19.

Abstract

Research examining the impact of work on health behaviours has rarely provided a complete picture of the impact across health behaviours. Twenty-four employees were interviewed about their smoking, drinking, exercise and eating. Themes included the impact of the work environment, including policy, convenience and workplace cultural norms; business events effecting one's routine and again convenience and workplace cultural norms; being busy at work effecting time and energy for healthy behaviour; and work stress leading to health behaviours being used as coping responses on bad and good days. The impact of work is similar across health behaviours and is primarily detrimental.

Keywords: drinking; eating; exercise; health behaviour; smoking.

MeSH terms

  • Adolescent
  • Adult
  • Alcohol Drinking / epidemiology
  • Alcohol Drinking / psychology
  • Employment / psychology*
  • Exercise / psychology
  • Feeding Behavior / psychology
  • Female
  • Health Behavior*
  • Humans
  • Interviews as Topic
  • Male
  • Middle Aged
  • Smoking / epidemiology
  • Smoking / psychology
  • Stress, Psychological / etiology
  • Stress, Psychological / psychology
  • Workplace / psychology
  • Young Adult