Purpose: The COVID-19 pandemic has led to profound changes in the workplace as well as increases in stress, missed preventive care, and other health concerns. There is limited research since the onset of the pandemic on employees' primary health concerns and their willingness to engage with workplace health promotion (WHP) programs to address these needs. We conducted this survey about employees' current health priorities as a first step to exploring whether WHP programs need to evolve to be responsive to employees' needs at this stage of the pandemic.
Design: National cross-sectional survey.
Setting: United States, April 29-May 5, 2022.
Subjects: 2053 Americans employed part or full time.
Measures: 17-item online survey assessing demographics, health priorities, and impact of the pandemic on health.
Analysis: Descriptive statistics, SPSS Version 19.
Results: Employees' most common health concerns included work/life balance and stress (each cited by 55%). Nearly half (46%) said their health or well-being was affected by the pandemic; within this group, the most common concerns were stress (66%), anxiety (61%), sleep (49%), and depression (48%). Almost all (94%) indicated they would be open to receiving support from their employers.
Conclusion: This research is a first step in learning about employees' current health priorities and how they may have changed. WHP researchers and practitioners can determine how their programs align with current priorities. Our future research will explore employees' preferences, heath behaviors, and their current workplace environments in more depth.
Keywords: COVID-19; health promotion; interventions; mental health; weight management; workplace; worksite.