Selected barriers and incentives for Worksite health promotion services and policies

Purpose. To assess employees' attitudes toward potential barriers to and incentives for their likely use of worksite health promotion services. Methods. Data from the 2004 HealthStyles Survey, a volunteer mail survey, were used to examine selected barriers to, incentives for, and potential use of worksite health promotion programs among adults employed full-time or part-time outside the home (n = 2337). Results. Respondents were 72.7% white and 52.1% female; 36.5% were college graduates, 30.7% had a body mass index of at least 30, and 35.6% were regularly active. The most common reported barriers to use of worksite services were no time during the workday (42.5%) and no time before or after work (39.4%). More than 70% of employees responded that the following incentives would promote their interest in participating in a free worksite wellness Program: convenient time, convenient location, and employer-provided paid time off during the workday. Preferred health promotion services reported by respondents were fitness centers (80.6%), weight loss programs (67.1%), and on-site exercise classes (55.2%). Policy practices of paid time to exercise at work and healthy vending or cafeteria food choices were preferred by almost 80% of employees. Conclusions. These HealthStyles Survey data, in combination with needs data from an employer's own workforce, may help employers design wellness programs to include features that attract employees.