Health Behavior, Quality of Work Life, and Organizational Effectiveness in the Lumber Industry
Document Type
Article
Department
Community and Global Health (CGU)
Publication Date
8-1999
Disciplines
Health Psychology
Abstract
A major incentive for work-site health promotion activities has been the promise of increased company profitability. Some critics have challenged the economic argument based on distal outcomes such as increased employee longevity and less morbidity later in life. The purpose of this study was to examine the relationships between employee health behavior, quality of work life, and proximal organizationally valued outcomes. Data were collected from a stratified random sample of employees working at Pacific Lumber Company (N = 146), the largest single-site lumber mill in California. Although employee sleep patterns predicted health care utilization and psychological well-being, for the most part employee health behaviors were not strong predictors of proximal organizational effectiveness factors. However, quality-of-work-life factors significantly predicted organizational commitment, absenteeism, and tardiness frequency. The findings suggest the value of improving the system of work in which employees are embedded as part of comprehensive work-site health promotion efforts.
Rights Information
© 1999 Society for Public Health Education
DOI
10.1177/109019819902600413
Recommended Citation
Donaldson, S. I., Sussman, S., Dent, C. W., Severson, H. H., & Stoddard, J. L. (1999). Health behavior, quality of work life, and organizational effectiveness in the Lumber Industry. Health Education and Behavior, 26(4), 579-594.
