Well-being at work--overview and perspective.
This paper provides an overview of and perspective on the concept of well-being at work. Well-being is a term that reflects not only on one's health but satisfaction with work and life. Well-being is a summative concept that characterizes the quality of working lives, including occupational safety and health (OSH) aspects, and it may be a major determinant of productivity at the individual, enterprise and societal levels. Based on a review of the literature and a recent conference, we suggest a model linking workforce well-being, productivity, and population well-being. To appraise the validity of the model, we consider five questions: (i) is there a robust and usable definition of workplace well-being? (ii) have the variables that influence well-being been aptly described and can they be measured and used in risk assessments? (iii) what is the nature of evidence that well-being is linked to productivity? (iv) what is the state of knowledge on the effectiveness of interventions to promote workplace well-being? and (v) should interventions aimed at improving well-being at work focus on more than work-related factors?
Schulte
Paul
P
National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health, Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, Cincinnati, Ohio 45226, USA. pschulte@cdc.gov
Vainio
Harri
H
D000223:Adaptation, Psychological; D004526:Efficiency; D004651:Employment / Q000523:psychology*; D019317:Evidence-Based Medicine; D006240:Happiness; D006293:Health Promotion; D006801:Humans; D008962:Models, Theoretical; D016272:Occupational Health; D013315:Stress, Psychological; D014937:Work / Q000523:psychology*; D017132:Workplace / Q000523:psychology / Q000706:statistics & numerical data