KONTORSARBETARES SYN PÅFYSISK AKTIVITET OCH DESSINVERKAN PÅ ARBETSRELATERADSTRESS : En kvalitativ studie om kontorsarbetares uppfattningar om hur fysisk aktivitetpåverkar arbetsrelaterad stress

Sammanfattning: Work-related stress is one of the main causes that contribute to a number of different mental and physical ailments. It has been proven that office work involves a high workload and increased stress levels due to high expectations, productivity and on performance. To reduce the incidence of stress-related illnesses and symptoms among office workers, it is important to limit sedentary time at work and encourage physical activity. Physical activity contributes to a number of different psychological and physical health benefits, such as memory capacity and strengthens the body to fight public diseases. The theoretical perspective in the study is based on the Demand-control-support model (KKSM). The purpose of this study is to investigate office workers' perceptions of how physical activity affects work-related stress. A qualitative method was used where data was collected through semi-structured interviews, then analysed based on a manifest qualitative content analysis. The sample in the study is office workers and was based on a purposive sampling, where six informatics were chosen. The results of the study have shown that office workers experience a high level of work-related stress, and insufficient opportunity for physical activity outside of working hours. It also emerged that physical activity affects office workers' well-being positively; thus, work-related stress is perceived as an obstacle. The obstacles that office workers stated for physical activity are a lack of time and energy as well as motivation, which is caused by deficiencies in the psychosocial work environment and increased sedentary time. Keywords: Health-promoting work environment, physical activity, sedentary lifestyle, work-related stress