BACKGROUND: Research in the area of workplace health promotion from a salutogenic perspective is lacking in Eastern Europe.

OBJECTIVE: To evaluate the relationship between psychosocial work environment and health from a salutogenic perspective among Lithuanian hospital workers.

METHODS: Using a cross-sectional design a questionnaire was distributed to staff in a large hospital in Lithuania. Out of 811 employees, 714 completed the survey: 151 physicians, 449 nurses and 114 other staff members (e.g., psychologists, technicians, therapists). A response rate of 88.0% was achieved. The Work Experience Measurement Scale (WEMS) and the Salutogenic Health Indicator Scale (SHIS) were linguistically adapted and used for the first time in a Lithuanian context. Logistic and multiple linear regression models were used for the analyses.

RESULTS: Supportive working conditions, positive internal work experiences and time experience contributed the most to good health, defined as a high SHIS index. Having an executive post was significantly related to good work experiences, i.e. a high WEMS score, while being at the age of 40-54 years was associated with a low WEMS score. Physicians had the highest score on supportive working conditions; while nurses had the lowest scores on autonomy.

CONCLUSIONS: A salutogenic approach enables an organisation to identify how to improve working conditions for the employees by focusing on possibilities and resources. Individual activities for workplace health promotion among different work groups seem necessary.

Objective: The aim of this study was to explore healthcare workers' opinions on workplace related health resources relevant to promotion of their health.

Participants: 16 registered nurses and 19 assistant nurses, from a medical emergency ward at a medium sized hospital in the south of Sweden, participated in the study.

Methods: Eight focus group interviews were conducted, the material was condensed and conventional qualitative content analysis was used to elicit and identify patterns in the expressed opinions of the participants.

Results: The analysis yielded four themes that were labelled the reward, the team, the mission and the context. An explanatory model was constructed consisting of concentric circles, with the reward at the core. The qualitative analysis also revealed two divergent patterns; some of the participants associated positive health with stability while others referred to flexibility.

Conclusions: The results from this study have contributed to the body of knowledge regarding salutogenic health indicators in the field of work and health research in particular as well as in health promotion in general. The findings show that individuals can have diverse responses to any given work situation, and this should be taken into account before implementation of salutogenic health promotion programs.

Different strategies have been used to stimulate a return to work (RTW) among individuals suffering from long-term ailments. In Sweden a new law on "resting disability pension" permits disability pensioners to go back to work without jeopardising their benefits. In this study different variables related to RTW during 2000 by means of this legislation were identified among disability pensioners with musculoskeletal disorders. Individuals in the study group, when compared to a control group, had more often been disability pensioners for several years, had additional education, estimated their previous job to have been physically strenuous to a lesser degree, were more satisfied with the treatment at the social insurance office and had a more positive self-image. This study shows that it may be meaningful to continue/resume rehabilitation efforts and to try to motivate an individual suffering from musculoskeletal disorders to return to work even after several years as a disability pensioner.

BACKGROUND: There is a lack of information on positive work factors among health care workers.

OBJECTIVE: To explore salutogenic work-related factors among primary health care employees.

METHOD: Questionnaire to all employees (n = 599) from different professions in public and private primary health care centers in one health care district in Sweden. The questionnaire, which had a salutogenic perspective, included information on self-rated health from the previously validated SHIS (Salutogenic Health Indicator Scale), psychosocial work environment and experiences, recovery, leadership, social climate, reflection and work-life balance.

RESULTS: The response rate was 84%. A multivariable linear regression model, with SHIS as the dependent variable, showed three significant predictors. Recovery had the highest relationship to SHIS (1 = 0.34), followed by experience of work-life balance (1 = 0.25) and work experiences (1 = 0.20). Increased experience of recovery during working hours related to higher self-rated health independent of recovery outside work.

CONCLUSION: Individual experiences of work, work-life balance and, most importantly, recovery seem to be essential areas for health promotion. Recovery outside the workplace has been studied previously, but since recovery during work was shown to be of great importance in relation to higher self-rated health, more research is needed to explore different recoverystrategies in the workplace.

BACKGROUND: Work and employees are often marginalized in studies on community-based psychiatric care and support systems. This paper highlights the role of the worker at congregated supported housing for people with severe mental illness (SMI). Housing support workers (HSW) are a fairly new professional role and have developed as a result of major changes in Swedish mental health care and services. The development of new roles is not unproblematic and raises intriguing questions.

OBJECTIVE: The purpose of this article is to describe housing support workers’ experiences of meaning in their work, and in addition illuminate how the work identity of HSWs can be negotiated and constructed.

METHODS: Four focus group interviews were conducted with a total of 25 participants. Additionally, three follow up sessions were conducted with the same participants. The material consists of employees from four different sites. The intepretation of the material was inspired by a constructionist approach.

RESULTS: The analysis generated three themes: to do a good job, everyday needs and the formal role. The work identity for HSWs is complex and not easily interpreted.

CONCLUSIONS: The experience of an unclear assignment affects the description of what is meaningful and important—the work identity and significant affiliations for HSWs. In the long run, this fragmented world can have negative implications for the HSW.

BACKGROUND: Experiencing work-life balance is considered a health promoting resource. To counter-balance the negative development of teachers' work situation, salutogenic resources need to be examined among teachers.

OBJECTIVE: To examine resources related to teachers' experience of their work-life balance.

METHODS: Using a cross-sectional design, a questionnaire was distributed to 455 teachers in compulsory schools in a Swedish community. A total of 338 teachers participated (74%). A multiple linear regression method was used for the analysis.

RESULTS: Four variables in the regression model significantly explained work-life balance and were thereby possible resources: time experience at work; satisfaction with everyday life; self-rated health; and recovery. The strongest association with work-life balance was time experience at work. Except time experience at work, all were individual-related.

CONCLUSIONS: This study highlights the importance of school management's support in reducing teachers' time pressure. It also emphasizes the need to address teachers' individual resources in relation to work-life balance. In order to support teachers' work-life balance, promote their well-being, and preventing teachers' attrition, we suggest that the school management would benefit from creating a work environment with strengthened resources.

OBJECTIVE: To present validity data for the Work Experience Measurement Scale (WEMS), an instrument measuring multifaceted work experience from a salutogenic health resource perspective as a contrast to the more common pathogenic risk perspective, by exploring WEMS relationship to established measurements that are positively related to health and work. A salutogenic perspective focuses on finding conditions and resources in life, for example at work, that can enhance the individual's health and strength, instead of those causing illness and weakness.

METHOD: This study was carried out in 2009 at a Swedish hospital with a web-based survey (WEMS) to 770 employees. Different occupational groups at the hospital participated. Additional questionnaires used at the same time were the Utrecht Work Engagement Scale (UWES-9), the Salutogenic Health Indicator Scale (SHIS), the General Self-Efficacy scale (GSE), and three questions about self-rated health, general well-being, and quality of life.

RESULTS: Cronbach's Alpha of WEMS sub-indices were in the interval of 0.85—0.96. Convergent validity and discriminant validity of WEMS and its sub-indices were shown to be satisfying by correlations. In addition, WEMS demonstrated the ability to discriminate between groups. WEMS sub-indices discriminated even better between groups than the total index.

CONCLUSION: The WEMS proved to be a workplace health promotion questionnaire that was able to measure experiences of work from a salutogenic perspective. The WEMS has a potential of being a useful tool in workplace health promotion to enhance positive human capabilities and resources to improve work performance.

Instruments related to work are commonly illuminated from an ill-health perspective. The need for a concise and useable instrument in workplace health promotion governed the aim of this paper which is to present the development process and quality assessment of the Work Experience Measurement Scale (WEMS). A survey, using a questionnaire based on established theories regarding work and health, and a focus group study were performed in hospital settings in 2005 and 2006 respectively. A Principal Component Analysis (PCA) was used to statistically develop a model, and focus group interviews were made to compare quantitative and qualitative results for convergence and corroboration. The PCA resulted in a six factor model of dimensions containing items regarding management, reorganization, internal work experience, pressure of time, autonomy and supportive working conditions. In the analysis of the focus group study three themes appeared and their underlying content was compared to, and matched, with the dimensions of the PCA. The reliability, shown by weighted kappa values, ranged from 0.36 to 0.71, and adequate Cronbach's Alpha values of the dimensions were all above 0.7. The study validity, indicated by discriminant validity, with correlation values that ranged from 0.10 to 0.39, in relation to the content validity appeared to be good when the theoretical content of the WEMS was compared to the content of similar instruments. The WEMS presents a multidimensional picture of work experience. Its theoretical base and the psychometric properties give support for applicability and offer a possibility to measure trends in the work experience over time in health care settings. One intention of the WEMS is to stimulate the ability of organizations and the employees themselves to take action on improving their work experience. The conciseness of the instrument is intended to increase its usability.

BACKGROUND: The impact of positive social relationships on the health of municipal employees in the elder care sector in Sweden needs further examination.

OBJECTIVE: To explore the association between health and relationships among elderly care employees using a salutogenic perspective.

METHOD: Survey of all employees (n = 997) in special housing, home care and Disabled Support and Services in a Swedish municipality. The questionnaire, which had a salutogenic perspective, included information on self-rated health from the previously validated SHIS (Salutogenic Health Indicator Scale), psychosocial work environment and experiences, social climate, and health-promoting workplace relationships.

RESULTS: The response rate was 69% . Results of a multivariable linear regression model showed four significant predictors of health: general work experiences, colleague belongingness and positive relationships with managers and care recipients. In another model, colleague belongingness was significantly related to satisfaction with care recipients, work, length of employment as well as general work experiences and relationships with managers.

CONCLUSION: Strengthening of positive work relationships, not only between workmates but also with managers and care recipients, seems to be an essential area for employee health promotion. Colleague belongingness may be deepened by development of a positive work climate, including satisfactory work experiences, positive manager relationships and a stable work force.

BACKGROUND: Despite an increase in work-life balance literature, the development of successful support to help employees manage their work -life balance is slow. Moreover, there are few interventions with a comprehensive approach to workplace health promotion focusing on work-life balance.

OBJECTIVE: This paper aims to present the development and building blocks of a holistic interdisciplinary health-promoting program, the BELE program, to enhance female employees working in human service organizations health and well-being with a focus on work-life balance.

METHODS: The planning and development of the program was done through an intervention mapping and research circles methodology.

RESULTS: The planning- and development process of the program resulted in a theoretical framework, and a program structure with a program content. The intervention program was named "The Balance in Everyday Life Empowerment program" (BELE program).

CONCLUSIONS: The BELE program adds to the existing body of work-life balance knowledge, so far often based on a conflict approach. Interventions focusing on a comprehensive approach to health and work-life balance with a salutogenic approach are rare. Furthermore, the integration with occupational therapy and health promotion in a workplace health promotion framework is innovative. In a previous study, the BELE program has shown that it enhances women's well-being and balance in their everyday life.

Background: As guardians of the public interest, auditors represent a unique occupational group. The group that has shown to experience high level of stress and overload often being associated with environmentally imposed responsibility as well as organizationally imposed performance demands. It is the later aspects, represented by the concept of organizational culture, that is being highlighted in this papers and its relationship to auditors well-beingOBJECTIVES:The paper aims to explore organizational culture as an antecedent of auditors' well-being, which is assumed to have important consequences for the quality of auditors' work.Methods: This study is based on a survey of 207 Swedish auditors. Using established and validated instruments measuring aspects of organizational culture and personal well-being, the study employed correlations and multiple regression analysis in testing the relationship between the two.Results: The results of the study suggest that increasing the degree of collectivistic organizational culture has a positive relationship with three aspects of well-being: Job satisfaction, life balance and life satisfaction.Conclusions: This study is the first attempt to explore well-being of auditors and its antecedents represented by organizational culture. Contrary to the expectation that auditors take an individualistic approach to their work, this study establishes that auditors feel best in a work environment characterized by a collectivist organizational culture.

BACKGROUND: Business professionals are an important occupational group that carries responsibility for the economic welfare of organizations and of society at large. These professionals have recently been reported to be experiencing increased mental strain, which may have a significant effect on their role they play in organizations and in society. Understanding the causes of this strain is thus an important endeavour.   

OBJECTIVE: This study explores the antecedents of the mental health of business professionals.  

METHODS: Multiple linear regression analyses were used to examine the relationship between business professionals’ mental health and its demographic, work-related, and other triggers. T-tests and descriptive statistics were used to explore the gender of the respondents in relation to these triggers and mental health.  

RESULTS: Compared with their male counterparts, female business professionals report poorer mental health; however, no gender differences were found in job satisfaction or life satisfaction. According to this study, age, overtime pay, higher salary and position as a manager have a positive relation with mental health, whereas working overtime has a negative relation with mental health. Job satisfaction and life satisfaction are important determinants of the mental health of business professionals.

CONCLUSIONS: Business professionals are important to the economic welfare of their organization and of society as a whole. Our study suggests that demographic characteristics, work-related aspects and subjective dimensions of well-being have a profound effect on the mental health of business professionals.