CARING ABOUT EMPLOYEES’ HEALTH@WORK – UNDERSTANDING HEALTH BELIEFS AND THE USE OF DIGITAL HEALTH INTERVENTIONS
Abstract
Employees find contemporary ways of working very demanding. Blurred boundaries between life and work cause technostress and considerable mental strain. To overcome these shortcomings, digital health interventions (DHIs) possess the power to prevent employees from suffering health-related issues at and due to their work. We developed a theoretically sound instrument employing a unified conceptualization of health beliefs, technology acceptance, privacy concerns, and autonomy to predict preventive health and technology use behavior at work. Accordingly, we conducted a survey-based study to investigate the factors influencing DHIs use for preventive health behavior at work. Our empirical results emphasize that employees undertake a cost-benefit analysis, valuing the benefits of reducing health threats and the perceived usefulness of DHIs for taking preventive actions at work. We confirm that privacy concerns and autonomy play a vital role. Our research outlines new avenues in DHIs use by contributing a valid theoretical framework for healthier work environments.