Researchers found an association between increasing workplace flexibility with a lower risk for cardiovascular disease, according to a study published in the American Journal of Public Health. Lisa F. Berkman, PhD, and colleagues examined whether workplace interventions to increase workplace flexibility and supervisor support and decrease work–family conflict can reduce cardiometabolic risk. The analysis included employees from information technology (n=555) and long-term care (n=973) industries in the United States. The study team randomly assigned these participants to the Work, Family, and Health Network intervention or usual practice (2009-2013). The study team found no significant main effect on the cardiometabolic risk score (CRS) associated with the intervention in either industry. However, among participants in both industries with a higher baseline risk score, the intervention had significant improvements in cardiometabolic risk at the 12-month follow-up.
