Enrichment and Conflict Between Work and Health Behaviors: New Scales for Assessing How Work Relates to Physical Exercise and Healthy Eating

Abstract

Studies suggest a mutual influence between work and health behaviors (physical exercise, healthy eating). To advance research on this phenomenon, we developed and validated short scales that capture enrichment and conflict experiences between work and health behaviors. Building on the work-family literature, we developed items assessing enrichment and conflict between (1) work and physical exercise and (2) work and healthy eating. In Study 1, we examined construct validity of the new scales, using confirmatory factor analysis. In Study 2, we refined the items, relying on expert ratings. In Study 3, we tested construct validity of the revised measures and examined their nomological net. We replicated the factor structure across Study 1 and Study 3. Analysis of the nomological net showed that enrichment experiences mainly correlate with job rewards, organizational health behavior climate, high exercise identity, high healthy-eater identity, physical exercise behavior, consumption of fruits and vegetables, and low body mass index (BMI). Conflict experiences mainly correlate with a high amount of effort invested into work, low exercise identity, low healthy-eater identity, no or limited physical exercise behavior, and the consumption of less fruits and vegetables.