Call center employees with manager

TOTAL WORKER HEALTH TOOLKIT

Active Workplace

REDUCING SITTING TIME FOR SEDENTARY WORKERS THROUGH SAFETY, HEALTH AND WELL-BEING

​

The Active Workplace toolkit targets sedentary behavior in the workplace. By reducing sedentary time and prolonged sitting at work, the toolkit aims to improve worker health, safety, and well-being, reduce musculoskeletal pain, and reduce lost work time due to injury or illness. The Active Workplace toolkit includes:
  • Environmental Changes: Changes to the physical work environment that promote  health and safety.
  • Team Activities: Support, and incentives for employee safety, health, and well-being.
  • Goal Setting: Managers and employees set goals together in safety, health, and well-being.
 

Download the Active Workplace One Pager and Briefing Slides to share with your organization's leader. Learn more on how your organization can participate in YourWorkpath Program to access the training program at no cost for up to 200 employees.

​

*Our toolkits are continually going through improvements and changes to provide your organization with updated and relevant content. Active Workplace was last reviewed and updated in August 2021.

 

“Insert quote from participanting organization.”

 

-Name, Role, Organization

Active Workplace Toolkit Components

1. GET STARTED

The User Guide is available to help introduce Active Workplace to your organization. This guide provides an overview of the toolkit along with step-by-step instructions on how-to implement. The Start Guide includes:



2. ONLINE SUPERVISOR TRAINING

The Online Supervisor Training is an essential aspect of Safety, Health and Improvement Program and outlines the importance of supervisor support in improving employee health and safety. SHIP supervisor training topics cover:

  • Improving work-like balance and safety
  • Family Supportive Supervisor Behaviors (FSSB)
  • Safety Supportive Supervisor Behaviors (SSSB)
  • Tracking your Supportive supervisor Behaviors
  • Follow-up and check-ins with your team
The training consists of these objectives:
  • Showing you how leadership can improve the organizational climate on work-life balance and safety and health of their employees
  • Providing insight on how to be supportive of employee work-life balance
  • Highlights how to provide supervisor support for workplace safety
  • Detailing the importance of team building and goal setting, as well as reducing inefficiencies for work processes
There are 3 options to get access to the SHIP online training: 1. The components of the SHIP toolkit are free and accessible at the following links below. If your organization is interested in using any SHIP training content/materials or access to Learning Managment System (LMS) training files, a licensing agreement must be in place. Please contact us to learn more and obtain a license or more information to the online training. The SHIP toolkit is protected under OHSU copyright. Module 1: SHIP Introduction (10 minutes) Module 2: Family Supportive Supervisor Behavior (15 minutes) Module 3: Safety Supportive Supervisor Behavior (15 minutes) Module 4: Tracking Your Supportive Supervisor Behaviors (10 minutes) Module 5: SHIP Follow-Up (10 minutes) *Online training modules developed in partnership with SAIF. 2. Participate in YourWorkpath Program to gain access to the entire toolkit for up to 200 employees including additional incentives for your organization. Contribute to occupational health sciences research. 3. Access supervisor online training licensing cost directly through NwETA: $25 per user license. * Purchase training now. *The computer-based training link listed will take you to a website external to Yourworkpath. NwETA, LLC is the company that collaborates with OHSU in the offering of the trainings in these toolkits. OHSU has a financial interest in this company and Dr. Anger, who is the Director of Applied Science at Oregon Institute of Occupational Health Sciences at OHSU, is the company's President. If you would like more information about this, please contact the OHSU Integrity Department at (503) 494-8849 or integrity@ohsu.edu. Customization, branding, and licensing of training content or Learning Management System (LMS) options available. Contact us at Helen Schuckers, schucker@ohsu.edu.



3. SUPERVISOR BEHAVIOR TRACKING

The Behavior Tracking activity is designed to improve the transfer of trained behaviors following the Online Supervisor Training. This activity involves your choice of using a: notecard, log, journal or phone app to set goals and track supportive behaviors. Choose a method that works best for your organization/team. Behavior tracking will take between 3 to 5 minutes per day over a two-week period. This activitly will help supervisors and managers reinforce what is learned in the online training, as well as track supportive supervisor patterns towards their employees. Visit the YourWorkpath Download page to access this tool for free. The SHIP Start-Guide includes a “how-to guide” to faciliate behavior tracking. The tracking activity has the following elements:

  • Daily Tracking Card
  • 3x5 index card option
  • Lanyard card option
There are also smart phone behavior tracking apps available to download from the Apple Store or Google Play. We recommend the below apps:
  • Upkeep
  • Momentum
  • Habit-Bull
*OHWC does not endorse or maintain the smart phone apps listed. They are additional options to track behaviors that are not paper-based.



4. FOLLOW-UP

Follow-up includes group discussion in which supervisors and their teams meet to brainstorm solutions to improve work practices, communication, and the work environment. Follow-up and check-ins for supervisors/managers and their employees are an essential aspect of SHIP that help ensure what is learned during the SHIP toolkit becomes embedded into everyday work practices. Included in the SHIP User Guide are components to ensure the success of the SHIP trainings.

  • Follow-up guide with check-in and quick tools provide additional resources to promote supportive supervisor behaviors and work life support

The Follow-up Guide were developed by our partners, WFD Consulting, and consists of work practice assessments and templates.



Ready to download the Active Workplace Toolkit?

Click the download button to access our download page to access our toolkit components. We collect registrations for internal reporting purposes only. Your information will never be used for marketing or sold to a third-party.

Why Adopt Active Workplace?

The results of the Active Workplace could impact other professions. The number of sedentary jobs in the U.S. has increased steadily since the 1960s and there are currently over 30 million sedentary workers in the U.S. As the number of sedentary jobs in the U.S. continues to rise, effective methods to reduce sedentary behavior and exposure to sedentary work environments are increasingly important.

​

Sedentary behavior is related to health outcomes such as obesity, cardiovascular disease, diabetes, musculoskeletal injury, and increased risk of all-cause mortality.

 

Call center employees are among the most sedentary workers in the U.S. They sit for up to 83% of work hours and are more likely to be sedentary during non-work time than employees in other sedentary jobs. Reduced sedentary time at work is related to:

  • Improved mood

  • Job satisfaction

  • General well-being

 

We developed Active Workplace to address  organizational concerns and improve employee outcomes. Find out more about how we developed SHIP.

​

The Active Workplace toolkit was developed by Dr. Brad Wipfli, PhD. Learn more about Dr. Wipfli and his research at OHSU.

BradWipfliHeadshot.jpeg
The Science Behind Active Workplace

SHIP was designed to increase supervisor and peer support and decrease job strain, which plays a key role in safety compliance and improved physical and mental health. SHIP integrates a focus on both health protection and health promotion by addressing psychosocial factors that are shown to be related to safety, well-being, and organizational productivity.

 

The SHIP intervention study was a NIOSH-funded randomized controlled trial focusing on supervisors and their teams. SHIP aimed to increase employee support from supervisors, improve team communication, enhance team effectiveness, and reduce stress and work-family conflict.

 

The SHIP intervention was composed of:

  • One-hour training for supervisors 

  • Behavior-tracking that reinforced the training principles

  • Team-based planning and problem-solving that utilizes a modified version of WFD Consulting's Team Effectiveness Process

  • Follow-up sessions

​

The SHIP intervention was tested in the construction industry with a sample of 528 employees. We found that the intervention was effective at reducing worker blood pressure. 

 

The SHIP study found that the strongest effects were among work crews that needed it most; those with poorer relationships with their supervisor and those with lower team cohesion. This Total Worker Health intervention targeted the supervisor and their teams/work groups to examine effects on work-life balance. Read more in the Journal of Work & Stress.

​

Also, an adapted version of the SHIP toolkit was developed for the United States Forest Service called the STTEP (Supervisor Training and Team Education Program) that included the online portion of the SHP training. Results showed similar significant outcomes on employee well-being, and descriptively explored the impact of the training on supervisors and employees.

 

Funding for SHIP was provided by the National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health (NIOSH; grant: U19OH010154).

​

Download the latest SHIP intervention study publication.

Have questions? We're here to help.​

Contact us for more information and guidance on how we can help your organization be safe, healthy and well.

References

Perry, M. L., El-Askari, L. M., Hammer, L. B., & Brown, N. D. (2020). Securing your Own Mask before Assisting Others: Effects of a Supervisor Training Intervention on Supervisors and Employees. Occupational Health Science, 1-27.

 

Hammer, L. B., Truxillo, D. M., Bodner, T., Pytlovany, A. C., & Richman, A. (2019). Exploration of the impact of organisational context on a workplace safety and health intervention. Work & Stress, 33(2), 192-210.

​

Brossoit, R. M., Crain, T. L., Leslie, J. J., Hammer, L. B., Truxillo, D. M., & Bodner, T. E. (2019). The effects of sleep on workplace cognitive failure and safety. Journal of Occupational Health Psychology, 24(4), 411-422.

​

Yaldiz, L. M., Truxillo, D. M., Bodner, T., & Hammer, L. B. (2018). Do resources matter for employee stress? It depends on how old you are. Journal of Vocational Behavior, 107, 182-194.

​

Zaniboni, S., Truxillo, D. M., Rineer, J. R., Bodner, T. E., Hammer, L. B., & Krainer, M. (2016). Relating age, decision authority, job satisfaction, and mental health: a study of construction workers. Work, Aging and Retirement, 2(4), 428-435.

​

Hammer, L. B., Truxillo, D. M., Bodner, T., Rineer, J., Pytlovany, A. C., & Richman, A. (2015). Effects of a workplace intervention targeting psychosocial risk factors on safety and health outcomes. BioMed Research International, 2015.

​

Bodner, T., Kraner, M., Bradford, B., Hammer, L., & Truxillo, D. (2014). Safety, health, and well-being of municipal utility and construction workers. Journal of Occupational and Environmental Medicine, 56(7), 771-778.

​

​

The mission of the Oregon Healthy Workforce Center is to improve the well-being of workers through Total Worker Health® research, dissemination, outreach, and, education. We are housed within the Oregon Institute of Occupational Health Sciences at OHSU

 

Join our monthly drop-in sessions to learn more about our resources

  • Blogger - White Circle
  • Facebook - White Circle
  • Twitter - White Circle
  • LinkedIn
  • YouTube - White Circle

3222 SW Research Drive (Mail: L606) 

Portland OR 97239 USA

ohsu.edu/ohwc

 schucker@ohsu.edu

Phone: 503.494.2425

Fax: 503-494-6831

© 2018-2021 Oregon Healthy Workforce Center | Oregon Institute of Occupational Health Sciences at OHSU | Terms of Use I Contents on this website cannot be commercialized, resold or licensed without consent of OHSU