Effects of an employee exercise programme on mental health

<span class="paragraphSection"><div class="boxTitle">Abstract</div><div class="boxTitle">Background</div>Prior research indicates that workplace wellness programmes (WWPs) are generally associated with lowered healthcare costs and improved employee health. Despite the importance of mental well-being in workplace productivity and attendance, few WWP studies have focused on improvements in psychological well-being.<div class="boxTitle">Aims</div>To examine the effects of the Bruin Health Improvement Program (BHIP), a 3-month exercise and nutrition WWP, on seven domains of health: physical and mental health, stress, energy level, social satisfaction, self-efficacy and quality of life.<div class="boxTitle">Methods</div>Using data from BHIP completers, we conducted multiple one-way multivariate analyses of variance and follow-up univariate <span style="font-style:italic;">t</span>-tests to examine changes in physical and mental health, stress, energy level, social satisfaction, self-efficacy and quality of life. Effect sizes were also calculated <span style="font-style:italic;">post hoc</span> to determine the magnitude of each effect.<div class="boxTitle">Results</div>Results for the 281 participants reveal significant improvements across all seven domains (<span style="font-style:italic;">P</span> < 0.001). Effect sizes ranged from 0.19 to 0.67.<div class="boxTitle">Conclusions</div>This study is unique in revealing the effects of a WWP on multiple domains of psychological well-being. Given rising healthcare costs associated with mental health, targeting mental health through WWP may be an effective strategy for reducing indirect healthcare costs associated with absenteeism and presenteeism.</span>

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