Dissertation: The effects of workplace wellbeing emerge over years, not through short-term projects

M.Sc. (Sport Sciences) Antti Äikäs examined the long-term effects of health promotion in a Finnish forest-sector organization. The doctoral research was based on nine years of follow-up data, which were used to assess changes in employees’ health-related fitness, health risks, work ability, sickness absence, and the financial effects of the comprehensive workplace health promotion program. 

The research is significant because only a limited number of long-term follow-up studies on the topic have previously been published. Consequently, the long-term effects of workplace wellbeing are not well understood. 

The effects of workplace wellbeing are long-lasting 

The key finding was that the effects of workplace wellbeing and health promotion develop slowly and can only be reliably observed through long-term follow-up. 

The results showed several positive changes in employees’ health and health behaviors during the program. For example, 67 per cent of employees made a lifestyle change, and sickness absence decreased by 38 per cent. 

“The key conclusion of the research is that workplace wellbeing should be managed as an investment rather than as a short-term project. Achieving results requires management commitment, employee participation, and systematic follow-up,” says Äikäs. 

“In other words, the true effects of workplace wellbeing cannot necessarily be assessed on the basis of a single year.” 

Employee wellbeing and productivity are interconnected 

The research provides new knowledge, in particular, on how the effects associated with employee wellbeing can be examined simultaneously from health and financial perspectives. The results show that employee wellbeing and productivity are not separate phenomena but are interconnected over the long term. 

“The doctoral research shows that the effects of workplace wellbeing emerge over years. The next step is to help management anticipate these effects before they become visible in employees’ work ability, sickness absence, or costs,” says Äikäs. 

The research offers organizations a concrete example of a multi-year health promotion program. The program’s planning, implementation, and evaluation phases were reported in considerable detail so that the lessons from the research could also be applied in other organizations. 

Public examination 

M.Sc. (Sport Sciences) Antti Äikäs’s doctoral dissertation in physical education pedagogy, “Rethinking health promotion intervention at workplace: A case study on lifestyle change and effectiveness”, will be publicly examined on Saturday, 19 September 2026 at 12:00 in the C1 Main Building Hall at the University of Jyväskylä. The opponent is Reader David Maidment from Loughborough University, and the custos is Associate Professor Kasper Salin from the University of Jyväskylä. 

• Language of the public examination: English 
• Remote participation: https://r.jyu.fi/dissertation-aikas190926 
• Dissertation online: https://urn.fi/URN:ISBN:978-952-86-1732-7 

Further information: 

Antti Äikäs 
Tel. +358 50 369 0908 
antti.aikas@freialife.com