Influence of Organizations on Their Employees' Health

The modern working world, characterized by a VUCA-world, digitalization, and demographic change, is transforming the way of working, offering benefits like increased flexibility but also bringing uncertainty, constant change, and new tasks. These developments pose new challenges to leaders and employees, reflected in rising sick days in Germany. Given the financial damage of presenteeism and absenteeism for individual companies and the German economy, organizations must find ways to maintain their employees' mental and physical health. Despite the growing importance of health in the corporate context, in Germany the potential of workplace health promotion is not yet fully exploited. This book highlights how modern behavioral economic incentive systems, using psychological insights on people's real decision-making behavior, can enhance corporate health promotion. Jennifer Potthoff designed the MIND-THE-GAP-toolbox for organizations to motivate their employees to eat healthier, improve physical activity, and reduce stress at work. Additionally, the book discusses how leaders can support employee health through a health-oriented leadership style characterized by self-care, mindfulness, staff-care, appreciation, empathy, trust, communication, fairness, and a balance between scope for action and task orientation.

About the author

Jennifer Potthoff currently works as a research consultant at the German Economic Institute, with a research focus on behavioral economics and business ethics.