Employee culture of health perceptions and the development of a training intervention

• Date: 01 May 2023
• Pages: 205-221
• DOI: https://doi.org/10.1108/IJWHM-07-2022-0100
• Published date: 01 May 2023
• Subject Matter: Health & social care,Healthcare management,HR & organizational behaviour,Human resource policy,Employee welfare
• Author: Kristen L. Farris,Michael E. Burns,Tricia J. Burke,Janet R. Bezner

Employee culture of health

perceptions and the development

of a training intervention

Kristen L. Farris, Michael E. Burns and Tricia J. Burke

Department of Communication Studies, Texas State University,

San Marcos, Texas, USA, and

Janet R. Bezner

Department of Physical Therapy, Texas State University, San Marcos, Texas, USA

Abstract

Purpose –The authors used a case study approach to explore employees’perceptions of one institution’s

culture of health. The authors then applied a needs-centered training model to create and test the effectiveness

of a workplace wellness training program to improve the culture of health.

Design/methodology/approach–For study 1, the authors recruited 736 faculty and staff from an institution of

higher education to complete an online culture of health survey measuring their perceived leadership support, peer

support and institutional resources. In study 2, participants (n 560) in follow-up focus groups described their

experiences related to the culture of health at the institution. For study 3, university employees (n 544) participated

in the training intervention and reported on post-test outcomes measuring the training’s effectiveness.

Findings –High levels of employee stress and lack of supervisor and coworker support were identified as significant

issues in the needs assessment process. Therefore, the authors developed a needs-centered training intervention that

focused on supportive and confirming supervisor and peer communication. Results suggest employees perceive the

training to be effective, are ready to change their behaviors and are knowledgeable about the training content.

Originality/value –This study provides evidence regarding needs-based trainings focused on co-worker

communication and how these trainings may incrementally improve the culture of health within organizations.

Accordingly,the authors offer best practices, including the value of focusing on employee needs, advocating for

employees, building community through trainings and enacting change through the training process.

Keywords Communication, Training and development, Workplace wellness programs, Culture of health

Paper type Case study

I feel the [workplace wellness] program is a good concept but not enough buy-in by members of my

immediate team ...The sessions are treated more as niceties than health/wellness necessities by my

immediate team ...

Stress is the most significant factor ... contributing to my inability to get to the gym and to lose

weight. I believe that for most people that is due to having too much work to do ...

These quotes from university employees surveyed for the current study provide a snapshot

into the occupational stress experienced by faculty and staff at one institution of higher

education. Although university employees reported feeling distress prior to the outbreak of

COVID-19 (Meeks et al., 2021), the disruption to college campuses across the globe due to the

pandemic heightened these experiences. For instance, Course Hero reported that over half of

their sample of 570 higher education faculty indicated feeling stressed, frustrated and

emotionally burnt out and approximately 40% were contemplating leaving their positions

(Renfrow, 2020). The data for college and university staff members parallels that of faculty

(Irandoost et al., 2021;Kaiser et al., 2021). Thus, administrators should have a renewed focus

on helping their employees manage their wellness.

Employee

culture of

health

perceptions

205

This project was supported by the Research Enhancement Program grant at Texas State University.

The current issue and full text archive of this journal is available on Emerald Insight at:

https://www.emerald.com/insight/1753-8351.htm

Received 7 October 2022

Revised 13 December 2022

27 March 2023

Accepted 3 April 2023

InternationalJournal of Workplace

Health Management

Vol. 16 No. 2/3, 2023

pp. 205-221

© Emerald Publishing Limited

1753-8351

DOI 10.1108/IJWHM-07-2022-0100

One way to prevent or alleviate burnout may be through promoting a culture of health on

campus (Gabriel and Aguinis, 2022). The Centers for Disease Control (2013) conceptualize culture

of health as “a working environment in which employee health and safety are valued, supported,

and promoted through worksite health and well-being programs, policies, benefits, and

environmental supports.”Despiterecommendationstocreateacultureofhealth,littleisknown

about how to improve the culture of health, especially in university settings. Consequently, the

purpose of this study is to use a case study approach to explore employees’perceptions of one

institution’s culture of health to create an employee workplace wellness training intervention

aimed at improving the culture of health. Using Beebe et al.’s (2021) needs-centered training

model, this study applies case study data to the development of a training intervention focused on

communication between supervisors and employees and among peers.

Needs-centered training model

The primary purpose of a successful training program is to create an intervention that

responds to trainees’needs by developing their skills. Investing time to assess and adapt to

unique trainee needs can positively change organizations by avoiding costly mistakes and

retaining employees (Lucier, 2008). Beebe et al.’s (2021) Needs-Centered Training Model

(NCTM) focuses on the trainees’needs at every step of the training process and served as the

framework for this study.

The first step of the NCTM, analyze the trainee needs, centers the model. The remaining

eight steps are anchored in what is discovered during this needs assessment. Beebe (2007)

argues that everything presented during a training should directly correlate with what

trainees need to successfully do their jobs. Once the needs are determined, the trainer can

analyze the training task (step two), or steps required to perform the skills that address

trainee needs. Step three is developing training objectives, or what the trainees should be able

to accomplish during the training (Beebe et al., 2021).

The trainer now begins plans, organizes and creates the training intervention. Thus, the

fourth step is to organize training content by drafting the information trainees need to know

to understand the skills being taught. Once the content is organized, the trainer can shift focus

to the training methods or means by which the information will be delivered and the exercises

or activities used to practice the skills (step five). Step six is selecting training resources that

are most appropriate for both the material and the trainees.

The finalthree steps focus on planning, deliveryand assessing the trainingprogram (Beebe

et al., 2021). Step seven centers on the plans for how the trainer accomplishes the training

objectives.Step eight is deliveringor presenting the trainingwhile attending to theneeds of the

trainees throughoutthe delivery and adapting in real time when necessary. The final step is

assessing theeffectiveness of the training andwhether the trainees accomplished the training

objectives (Beebe etal., 2021). The assessment allows the trainer to make adjustments before

deliveringit again. Due to the model’s flexibilityto various training topicsand its emphasis on

employee needs, this model framed the culture of health analysis presented in this study.

Workplace wellness programs

A primary way that organizations, including colleges and universities, have tried to

contribute to their culture of health is through workplace wellness programs (WWPs). WWPs

are conceptualized as “programs and policies [that] can reduce health risks and improve the

quality of life for American workers”(Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, 2017;

para. 1). WWPs typically provide employees with the opportunity to evaluate their current

state of wellness, as well as resources and programming to improve it (Soler et al., 2010). From

the employee perspective, benefits of participating in WWPs include health behavior change

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