Education  June 24, 2015

CSU study: Emphasis on employee well-being as important as productivity

FORT COLLINS — Workplaces that value employees’ safety and well-being as much as company productivity yield the greatest rewards, according to a study done by researchers at Colorado State University and the Colorado School of Public Health.

The researchers developed a tool called an Ergonomics Climate Assessment, which measures employee perception of their workplace’s emphasis on the design and modification of work to maximize both employee performance and well-being. The study was funded by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention’s National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health.

The CSU co-authors were John Rosecrance, professor in the Department of Environmental and Radiological Health Sciences and a member of the Colorado School of Public Health, and Alyssa Gibbons, assistant professor in the Department of Psychology.

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The researchers evaluated a large manufacturing facility, using data from focus groups of employees and a review of best practices to determine four common factors central to ergonomic climate: management commitment, employee involvement, job hazard analysis, and training and knowledge. After an initial pilot study with 130 employees, they identified 40 questions that best describe an organization’s ergonomics climate.

The researchers studied the tool’s relationship to employees’ self-reported work-related musculoskeletal pain with 706 employees over a period of two years. They found that when the organization promoted productivity and employee well-being equally to their workers, and with a strong emphasis on both, employees reported having less work-related musculoskeletal pain. However, when workers perceived an emphasis on either performance or well-being unequally, regardless of which concept was felt to be more important, the researchers found workers reported greater levels of work-related musculoskeletal pain.

“Our study demonstrates that traditional arguments against workplace health and safety policies and practices just aren’t true,” said Krista Hoffmeister, a co-author and Sentis research analyst. “While employee safety and well-being are often seen as an obstacle to increases in productivity, this study demonstrates the importance of aligning these values for a maximum result.”

“On a practical level, the Ergonomics Climate Assessment can be used by businesses to assess their values for productivity and well-being, identify areas for improvement, and it acts as a benchmark for improvement goals,” Hoffmeister said.

The other co-author on the study was Natalie Schwatka, an instructor at the Colorado School of Public Health at the Anschutz Medical Campus. At the time the research was completed, Hoffmeister and Schwatka were doctoral students at CSU.

FORT COLLINS — Workplaces that value employees’ safety and well-being as much as company productivity yield the greatest rewards, according to a study done by researchers at Colorado State University and the Colorado School of Public Health.

The researchers developed a tool called an Ergonomics Climate Assessment, which measures employee perception of their workplace’s emphasis on the design and modification of work to maximize both employee performance and well-being. The study was funded by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention’s National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health.

The CSU co-authors were John Rosecrance, professor…

Dallas Heltzell
With BizWest since 2012 and in Colorado since 1979, Dallas worked at the Longmont Times-Call, Colorado Springs Gazette, Denver Post and Public News Service. A Missouri native and Mizzou School of Journalism grad, Dallas started as a sports writer and outdoor columnist at the St. Charles (Mo.) Banner-News, then went to the St. Louis Post-Dispatch before fleeing the heat and humidity for the Rockies. He especially loves covering our mountain communities.
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