Differences in preparedness among managers and workers for a tobacco-free workplace policy and cessation services at their workplace: A situational analysis survey in six workplaces in India

Abstract

Introduction The benefits of smoke-free workplace policies are established. For effective policy formulation and implementation in workplaces, it is important to assess and understand the needs of the organization, disparities among the different categories of employees, and their perceptions regarding new policies. This study aimed to assess the readiness for a tobacco-free workplace policy among employees from six workplaces in India. Methods We conducted a cross-sectional observational study involving a survey of employees – managers and workers from six workplaces – from April 2016 to March 2020 among a sample of 1376 employees (464 managers and 912 workers). The survey was conducted face-to-face for workers and online for managers. Results The majority of managers, as well as workers, agreed that the organization should have a tobacco-free policy and that it will impact the employees’ health. The prevalence of ever as well as current tobacco use was higher among the workers (50% and 33%, respectively) than the managers (27% and 11%, respectively). Of these, 49% of managers were smokers, while 80% of workers used smokeless products. While most of the managers (94%) and workers (97%) wanted to quit tobacco use, fewer managers were open to counselling support at the workplace (69% vs 94%). Conclusions Though the need for a tobacco-free workplace policy was expressed by most of the employees, there are differences among managers and workers in their attitudes towards the policy and their tobacco use behavior, which have to be considered while implementing the policy and offering cessation services.

Keywords

• tobacco-free workplace policy
• cessation
• tobacco-free workplace
• smokeless
• worker
• manager