Healthy Mobile Work: The Relationship of a Participative Work Agreement and Workplace Health Management-Qualitative Results of a Longitudinal Study

Marlies Jöllenbeck, Olivia Maloku, Ines Berling, Tjorven Stamer and Elke Ochsmann
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Marlies Jöllenbeck: Institute of Occupational Health, Prevention and Workplace Health Management, University of Luebeck, 23562 Luebeck, Germany
Olivia Maloku: Workplace Health Management, Statutory Accident Insurance (Unfallkasse Nord), 24113 Kiel, Germany
Ines Berling: Institute of Occupational Health, Prevention and Workplace Health Management, University of Luebeck, 23562 Luebeck, Germany
Tjorven Stamer: Institute of Occupational Health, Prevention and Workplace Health Management, University of Luebeck, 23562 Luebeck, Germany
Elke Ochsmann: Institute of Occupational Health, Prevention and Workplace Health Management, University of Luebeck, 23562 Luebeck, Germany

IJERPH, 2022, vol. 19, issue 12, 1-18

Abstract: Mobile work is becoming increasingly common, and it has been, consequently, associated with new health-related hazards and resources. Our study examined health-related stresses, strains and resources of mobile work in a medium-sized company. The study aimed to generate implications for a work agreement and for workplace health management (WHM). For this, a multi-method longitudinal study (2019–20) was conducted, with 29 focus group and 6 individual interviews (absolute number of all participants N = 187). It was designed as a qualitative content analysis and theoretically based on the job demands-resources model (JD-R). Positive effects (e.g., increased work–life balance, higher concentration), as well as negative consequences (e.g., alienation in the team, communication effort), can be found. Numerous fields of action for both the work agreement and WHM could be identified. For example, the work agreement regulates the equipment for working from home with support from WHM in order to ensure occupational health-oriented selection and handling, or by fixing core working hours through the work agreement and supporting competence building for leaders in order to enable flexible work commitments for employees. Self-organised work at home can be supported both by rules in the service agreement and by building up self-management skills through the WHM’s offers. The findings illustrate that a work agreement can make a relevant contribution to a healthy design of mobile work by systematically linking it with WHM. The synergies between work agreement, employee health and WHM become clear.

Keywords: mobile work; work agreement; workplace health management; health-oriented work design (search for similar items in EconPapers)
JEL-codes: I I1 I3 Q Q5 (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Date: 2022
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