The impact of frequent exercise on work motivation, productivity, and well- being

Abstract

It has been argued that exercise can play a major role in employee's feeling of fulfillment in their work day (Cortez, Gómez, Mendiburo-Seguel, Oyanedel, & Unanue, 2017). To explore this, 83 participants completed an online survey assessing their work motivation, satisfaction with life, work-life balance, absenteeism behaviors, frequency of exercise, and suggestion about how employers might provide more opportunities for employee exercise. From the responses, two groups were created, those who reported exercising less than three times per week (low frequency group) versus those who reported exercising three or more times per week (the high frequency group). Contrary to expectations, there were no differences found between the two groups on motivation scores, satisfaction with life scores, work-life balance scores or reported absenteeism. Lastly, the low frequency group did not give more solutions towards obtaining exercising than the high frequency group. The sample was largely comprised of younger people, who may not yet have experienced much conflict between work responsibilities and maintaining healthy behaviors.