Workplace health promotion within small and medium-sized enterprises

摘要

Purpose - The purpose of this study is to explore managers' understanding of workplace healthrnpromotion (WHP) and experiences of WHP activity within small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs)rnin a Health and Social Care Trust area of Northern Ireland. The paper aims to focus on engagementrnwith activities within the context of prevention of ill-health and health protection, lifestyle issues andrnworking culture and the environment as defined in the Luxembourg Declaration on WHP.rnDesign/methodology/approach - A Heideggerian interpretive phenomenological methodology isrnadopted, using in-depth telephone interviews with a purposive sample of 18 SME managers. Data arernanalysed using Benner"s strategy for data analysis.rnFindings - "Levels of awareness of WHP activity" are revealed as a central theme and interpreted asrn"high awareness activities", including the need to: preserve and protect employee health and safety,rnprevent ill-health and injury and promote employees' quality of daily living, and "low awarenessrnactivities", including the provision of training and development, human resource management andrnenvironmental considerations.rnOriginality/value - An "Iceberg" model, grounded in the data, draws attention to the limitedrnawareness of what constitutes WHP activities and the untapped meaningfulness of organisational andrnenvironmental activities.