2.2. Measures

The measures in the analysis were derived from the 2017 WHA. The industry categories used in the analysis are the same as those used in the original WHA. This is true for firm size, except as noted above, where the two largest sized categories were collapsed. A dichotomous variable was created to indicate which establishments had a union density greater than 10 percent. A strategic choice variable to support WHPs was created from the yes/no question HP7A in the dataset: “Has senior leadership visibly committed to employee health and safe work environment?” This last question was only asked at the 1484 establishments (52.2 percent of the valid sample) that had at least one workplace health program in the last 12 months.

Three sets of dependent measures were used in this analysis: the number of WHPs, the existence of specific workplace health initiatives, and participation in a workplace health program. Regarding specific initiatives, respondents were asked if they had workplace health programs in the last 12 months in nine areas: (1) physical activity, (2) nutrition, (3) obesity, (4) tobacco abatement, (5) alcohol abuse, (6) lactation support, (7) musculoskeletal disease (MSD) programs, (8) stress management, and (9) sleep management. From these, the variable “number of programs” was created that ranged from 1 to 9. Table 2 provides data on the number and percentage of establishments that have at least one WHP initiative. Similar to Table 1, the number of firms and percentages are provided by establishment size and industry in categories defined by the WHA.

Firms with WHPs in last 12 months (percentage).

n = 2843.

Data on employee participation were provided for seven of the nine WHP initiatives. Data for tobacco cessation were not collected, and the number of employees participating in lactation programs was too small for analysis. The variables on participation were derived from a four-level categorical variable. This variable was coded as 1 when at least 25 percent or more of the employees participated in a particular WHP and coded 0 for participation less than 25 percent.