Effectiveness of workplace interventions for health promotion

Abstract

Workplaces are an important setting for health promotion, offering established infrastructure, daily access to large populations, and opportunities to engage groups that are often under-represented in such initiatives. Although the effectiveness of workplace health promotion has been evaluated in reviews focusing on specific interventions, a comprehensive overview is needed. To address this gap, we present a quality-informed horizontal analysis encompassing 88 reviews and 339 meta-analysed effect estimates published between 2011 and 2024, covering a broad range of workplace health interventions. Mental health and stress reduction were the most frequently studied targets (36%), followed by weight management and cardiometabolic health (25%), health-related behaviours (22%), and musculoskeletal disorders and pain (17%). According to the GRADE assessment, 71 (21%) of the 339 meta-analysed effect estimates provided evidence of moderate quality, and the remainder were categorised as low or very low quality, with none classified as high quality. Mindfulness showed effectiveness across multiple stress and mental health outcomes, and cognitive behavioural techniques, stress management, physically oriented methods, and e-health interventions also showed some effectiveness. Multicomponent interventions had small but measurable effects on weight loss, glucose levels, fruit intake, and seasonal influenza vaccination uptake. A variety of behavioural, physical activity, environmental, multicomponent, and e-health interventions influenced physical activity and sedentary time at work. Consistent with findings found in non-occupational settings, effects at the individual level were generally modest but could be meaningful at both the workplace and population levels. In this Review we also discuss the broader public health implications of workplace health promotion, and highlight the strengths and limitations of the existing evidence and propose directions for future research.