A1597 Web-based intervention to improve work engagement: A randomized controlled trial

Monday, March 19, 2012: 18:00
Gran Cancun 3 (Cancun Center)

Norito Kawakami, Department of Mental Health, University Of Tokyo, Tokyo, Japan
Koutaro Imamura, Department of Mental Health, Unversity of Tokyo, Tokyo, Japan
Kanami Tsuno, Department of Mental Health, Unversity of Tokyo, Tokyo, Japan
Katsuyuki Nanba, Occupational Health, Chugai Pharmaceutical, Co., Ltd, Tokyo, Japan
Masao Tsuchiya, Health Administrarion and Psychosocial Factor Research Group, National Institute Of Occupational Safety And Health, Kawasaki-city, Japan
Kyoko Shimada, Department of Mental Health, University of Tokyo, Tokyo, Japan
Akihito Shimazu, Department of Mental Health, The University Of Tokyo, Tokyo, Japan
Handouts
  • 20120319_kawakamiWEintervention2R.pdf (245.0 kB)
    • Introduction
    The present randomized controlled trial aimed to examine if a website for stress and depression was effective in improving work engagement at one- and four-month follow-ups in a sample of workers.

    Methods
    Participants were recruited from registered monitors of a web survey company in Japan who were currently employed. Among participants randomly assigned to an intervention or control group (n=618 in each group), participants with work engagement lower than the overall median at baseline (n=305 and 318, respectively) were a target. A website for disseminating information of stress and stress management, including cognitive-behavioral techniques, called the University of Tokyo website for Stress Management and Education on Depression (UTSMeD), was developed. The intervention group was invited to visit the website immediately and three months after the baseline. Both groups were surveyed with a web questionnaire at baseline, one- and four-month follow-up. The primary outcome variable was the Utrecht Work Engagement Scale (UWES-9) (Schaufeli et al. 2006; Shimazu et al. 2008), a nine-item self-report scale. All analyses were undertaken using mixed-model repeated measures (MMRM) ANOVA with measurement occasion as a within-groups factor and intervention as a between-groups factor (SPSS 16.0 Linear Mixed Model).

    Results
    Eighty seven percent and 90% from the intervention and control groups, respectively, responded to the one-month survey; 79% and 86%, respectively, responded to the four-month survey. The intervention group did not have a significantly increased score of work engagement than the control group at one-month follow-up (b=-0.01, SE=0.06, p=0.823), but it had a significantly higher score at four-month follow-up (b=0.16, SE=0.08, p=0.040). The effect sizes at one- and four-month follow-ups were -0.05 and 0.22, respectively.

    Discussion
    This is the first study showing that a web-based intervention was effective in increasing work engagement among employees. 

    See more of: Psychosocial Interventions for Prevention of Stress at Work
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