A longitudinal study on the effects of health policy in organizations on job satisfaction, burnout, and sickness absence

Objective: The present study examines the effects of health policy in organizations as perceived by employees on their job satisfaction, burnout, and sickness absence. METHODS: The data were collected with Internet questionnaires in a longitudinal three-wave design among a heterogeneous sample of 1004 employees. RESULTS: The study shows that a stronger focus on health in the organization enhanced job satisfaction, reduced burnout, and reduced sickness absence a year later, after controlling for these variables in previous measurements. Reversed effects of these work outcomes on the perceived health policy were not found. CONCLUSIONS: A strong focus on health in the organization improves psychological health and health behavior of employees. Introduction of a comprehensive health policy may be beneficial for both organizations and their employees.