Health behavior, quality of work life, and organizational effectiveness inthe lumber industry

A major incentive for work-site health promotion activities has been the pr omise of increased company profitability. Some critics have challenged the economic argument based on distal outcomes such as increased employee longe vity and less morbidity later in life. The purpose of this study was to exa mine the relationships between employee health behavior, quality of work li fe, and proximal organizationally valued: outcomes. Data were collected fro m a stratified random sample of employees working at Pacific Lumber Company (N = 146), the largest single-site lumber mill in California. Although emp loyee sleep patterns predicted health care utilization and psychological we ll-being, for the most part employee health behaviors were not strong predi ctors of proximal organizational effectiveness factors. However, quality-of -work-life factors significantly predicted organizational commitment, absen teeism, and tardiness frequency. The findings suggest the value of improvin g the system of work in which employees are embedded as part of comprehensi ve work-site health promotion efforts.