PHYSICAL ACTIVITY AT WORK AND JOB PERFORMANCE : A qualitative study of physical activity at work from the perspective of office workers in Tanzania.

Sammanfattning: Sedentary behavior has been among the major challenges facing employees working in offices subsequently failing to attain WHO recommendations on physical activity. Office employees are mostly at high risk of developing non-communicable diseases because most of their work is executed while sitting. This study aims to explore how employees have experienced the influence of physical activity on their job performance at work by using a qualitative research approach. Semi-structured interviews were conducted with nine employees working in the banking industry in Tanzania. A content analysis was used to analyze the collected data. The main findings of this study highlighted the need to create a workplace culture that encourages physical activity. Having regular movement in the office has promoted employees’ health and overall job performance. Furthermore, employees experienced challenges such as time constraints, and high job demands hindering them from participating in physical activity which needs to be addressed. Finally, workplace health promotion influenced their overall health and enhanced well-being. Through physical activity, they experienced improved cognitive functions and better health. Therefore, this study concludes that there should be increased support of physical activity in the workplace for the benefit of employees’ health leading to their job performance.