Does Location Matter? Comparing the Utilization of On- vs. Off-Site Fitness Facilities on Desired Employee Outcomes

Abstract

Organizations are increasingly investing in their employees’ health in hopes of positive outcomes. Some organizations provide their employees with on-site fitness facilities to use at little to no cost. However, some employees do not take advantage of the wellness initiative; some even choose to exercise off-site at what may be a less-convenient and costlier location. The purpose of this study is to determine why some are, or are not, utilizing an organization’s fitness center as well as investigate outcomes associated with using on- and off-site fitness facilities. Participants (N = 218) who were full-time employees at a university completed an online survey and reported their perceived organizational support, job satisfaction, absenteeism, work engagement, exercise self-identity, locus of control, and use of on- and off-site fitness facilities. It was predicted that exercise would be positively associated with desired employee outcomes and that those who utilized off-site fitness facilities would report higher levels of job satisfaction and work engagement, and lower levels of absenteeism, compared to their coworkers who used the on-site facilities. Results of a binary logistic regression analysis, bivariate correlations, and multivariate analysis of variance did not support the majority of the proposed hypotheses. Limitations and future directions are discussed.