Perceptions about physical activity and its associated benefits among employees : case study in 12 Multinational Companies in Pakistan

Abstract

This thesis focus on the perceptions of the employees working in Multinational Corporations (MNCs) in Pakistan, with regards to their physical activity and its associated benefits. Previous research has shown that physical activity is positively associated with on-job productivity and life satisfaction of the employees across the world. With no such research being carried out in Pakistan before, this thesis aims to focus on the same factors, but uses employees’ perceptions rather than employing an intervention study. Furthermore associated benefits of physical activity such as reduced healthcare cost, decrease in exposure to various heath-risks and reduced presenteeism were also addressed within the scope of this thesis. An attempt was made to use recalled levels of physical activity to check whether the benefits associated with physical activity can be observed within the target audience as well or not.

In order to collect relevant data, an e-questionnaire was utilized and sent out to relevant Human Resources departments of the MNCs operating in Pakistan. After completing the analysis on the collected data, this study found out that employees working in MNCs operating in Pakistan did positively associate physical activity with their on-job productivity and life satisfaction. Though it was noted that the duration of the recalled level of physical activity did not have an impact on the presenteeism cost and the number of health risks that the employees were exposed. In addition to that it was observed that obesity was a bigger issue in the younger employees and was the most frequently reported health risk by the employees. Furthermore, presenteeism costs were higher for employees who reported being obese as compared to those employees who did not report being obese.

If the employers implement the findings of this thesis, it can help reduce presenteeism costs and therefore help in increasing the productivity of their workforce. Trying to physically activate the workforce can help improve job and life satisfaction of the employees.