Comparing the Contributions of Well-Being and Disease Status to Employee Productivity

Abstract

OBJECTIVE: To compare employee overall well-being to chronic disease status, which has a long-established relationship to productivity, as relative contributors to on-the-job productivity. METHODS: Data from two annual surveys of three companies were used in longitudinal analyses of well-being as a predictor of productivity level and productivity change among 2629 employees with diabetes or without any chronic conditions. RESULTS: Well-being was the most significant predictor of productivity cross-sectionally in a model that included disease status and demographic characteristics. Longitudinally, changes in well-being contributed to changes in productivity above and beyond what could be explained by the presence of chronic disease or other fixed characteristics. CONCLUSIONS: These findings support the use of well-being as the broader framework for understanding, explaining, and improving employee productivity in both the healthy and those with disease.