Organisational- and group-level workplace interventions and their effect on multiple domains of worker well-being: A systematic review

ABSTRACT

As a social determinant of health, work influences the health and well-being of workers. Interventions to change the conditions of work are an important complement to individually-focused wellness initiatives. This systematic literature review identified organisational- and group-level workplace intervention studies using experimental or quasi-experimental designs. It considered 83 studies with well-being outcomes that span the mental health continuum from ill-being to positive mental health, including context-free well-being (e.g. psychological distress), work-specific well-being (e.g. job satisfaction), and work-family well-being (e.g. work-family conflict). Interventions were categorised into four types: flexible work and scheduling changes; job and task modifications; relational and team dynamic initiatives; and participatory process interventions. There is significant heterogeneity in conceptualisation and measurement of well-being with job satisfaction being most commonly measured. Our review finds that strategies aiming to change work conditions have the potential to improve working well-being with demonstrable effects in all three well-being domains. Regardless of type, interventions involving increased control and opportunities for workers’ voice and participation more reliably improve worker well-being, suggesting these components are critical drivers of well-being. We recommend further research incorporate process evaluation to clarify how interventions create positive changes and examine the conditions in which specific interventions may be most effective.

Acknowledgements

The authors would like to thank the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation, Pioneering Ideas fund (grant #74575) for financial support of our research and gratefully acknowledge the support from Fulbright Finland Foundation.

Disclosure statement

No potential conflict of interest was reported by the author(s).

Additional information

Funding

This work was supported by the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation: [grant number 74575].