Relationship Between Workplace Productivity and Physical Activity Among an Employed Healthcare Workforce

Thesis (Master's)--University of Washington, 2016-06

Employers must understand the factors that contribute to both absenteeism and presenteeism and whether what steps if any may address the drivers of these costs. We examined the relationship between lost productive time, including both absenteeism and presenteeism, and physical activity among employees in a large, healthcare workforce who either did or did not meet the Center for Disease Control and Prevention’s recommendation for weekly physical activity. Among 5114 employees at two large health plans, 79.64% were female. Approximately 32% of employees did not meet the physical activity recommendations and experienced nearly one half-hour per week (.48/hour, p<.001) of lost productive time compared to employees who met the physical activity recommendations. Utilizing this 32% result, worksites with 1000 employees would experience an annual 24,960 hours of lost productive time equating to a cost of $298,801 based on an average $37.41/hour salary. These results indicate that employers should consider promoting and supporting physical activity in employees. Additionally, the results suggest that employers can utilize the Center for Disease Control and Prevention’s recommendations as a tool to specify the time and type of physical activity needed to reduce the costs of lost productive time due to absenteeism and presenteeism