A meta-analysis of worker health and productivity

This dissertation investigates the relationship between worker health and productivity, examining the effect of health conditions on workers who continued to work and workers who missed work. A meta-analysis was conducted of studies published since 1980 that reported data on worker health and productivity. The primary hypothesis for this dissertation was that there was a positive relationship between worker health and productivity. An extensive systematic review of the literature was conducted using bibliographic databases and other sources, resulting in the review of approximately 387 sources. Of these, 176 articles were identified as research studies. Each study was systematically reviewed to determine the extent to which it met criteria for potential inclusion in the meta-analysis.; Data from 37 studies that met preliminary inclusion criteria for the for in-depth evaluation and analysis. Effect sizes were computed for 22 of these 37 studies. Seven of the 22 studies that reported on relevant outcome measures and which measured the same type of comparison groups were included in the final meta-analysis.; This study confirmed that there was a moderately strong positive relationship between worker health and productivity. This study also found moderately strong evidence that productivity improved with specific interventions. These findings lead to the conclusion that investment in worker health can improve productivity. Questions remain about which investments are most likely to obtain the greatest improvements in productivity and which are most cost effective. These questions should be answered on an employer-by-employer basis, since the prevalence of specific diseases varies considerably.; This study recommends methodological improvements for researchers reporting on research results related to worker health and productivity. In addition, this study makes recommendations for additional worker health and productivity research, especially as related to other variables that may affect worker productivity and other disease areas.