The Relationship Between Work Productivity and Physical Activity Participation

Abstract

Increasing demands and higher expectations on employees could lead to lowered workplace productivity. The purpose of this study was to determine if a relationship existed between work productivity (WP) and physical activity (PA). Volunteer faculty and staff (N=37) at the University of Central Oklahoma were given surveys to self- evaluate their PA and WP. WP was measured using the 11- item Health and Work Performance Questionnaire (HPQ) to evaluate relative and absolute absenteeism and presenteeism. Absenteeism is a comparison of expected and actual hours worked and presenteeism is a comparison of possible and actual performance. Participants were also given a 27-item International Activity Questionnaire (IPAQ) to evaluate PA levels for walking (WA), moderate (MO), and vigorous (VI) intensity (METmin/wk). A Pearson-Product Moment Correlation was used for analysis. No relationship existed between existed between all variables (p>.05) The lack of relationship between WP and PA suggests that one’s ability to be productive or come in to work may not be linked to their physical activity level. This is contradictory to past research demonstrating PA may have an impact on work productivity and attendance. Further research should objectively measure the relationship between workplace productivity and physical activity.