Barrier profiles in workplace health promotion in Germany

Lay Summary Workplace health promotion (WHP) is often faced with low-participation rates despite high relevance. This limits the potential for creating positive effects for the organization and its staff. Therefore, we investigated the barriers perceived by employees themselves using a representative sample (regarding age, gender and education) in Germany. Data were collected using a quantitative online questionnaire and then analyzed regarding underlying patterns. We found that there are different barrier types, and their importance differs depending on demographic criteria of the participants and the organizations they work for. These results can help organizations to reduce participation barriers to WHP for their staff. Workplace health promotion (WHP) is often faced with low-participation rates despite high relevance. This limits the potential for creating positive effects for the organization and its staff. Barriers to participation are analyzed based on the employee's perspective regarding underlying patterns to develop suggestions for improving offer design. A quantitative online questionnaire study was done in Germany (N= 690). The sample is representative regarding age, gender and education. Data were analyzed using factor analysis and non-parametric tests (e.g. Mann-Whitney-U, Kruskal-Wallis). Offer design, information and social aspects are the major barrier dimensions. Offer design barriers are more relevant for females, employees in larger organizations and those in lower occupational roles, plus individuals planning to take up WHP participation. Social aspects are less important for employees with higher age. Regular participants have lower barriers scores, indicating the importance of reducing WHP participation barriers. Depending on the specific target group, hindrance perception intensity varies. This study offers specific suggestions on how to better design WHP programs.