Does Availability of Worksite Supports for Physical Activity Differ by Industry and Occupation?

PURPOSE: To explore combinations of worksite supports (WSS) for physical activity (PA) that may assist employees in meeting PA recommendations and to investigate how availability of WSS differs across industries and occupations.

DESIGN: Cross-sectional.

SETTING: Several Missouri metropolitan areas.

PARTICIPANTS: Adults employed >20 h/wk outside the home.

MEASURES: Survey utilized existing self-reported measures (eg, presence of WSS for PA) and the International Physical Activity Questionnaire.

ANALYSIS: Logistic regression was conducted for 2 outcome variables: leisure and transportation PA. Independent variables included 16 WSS. Of particular interest were interaction effects between WSS variables. Analyses were stratified by 5 occupation and 7 industry types.

RESULTS: Overall, 2013 people completed the survey (46% response rate). Often, availability of 1 WSS did not increase the likelihood of meeting PA recommendations, but several pairs of WSS did. For example, in business occupations, the odds of meeting PA recommendations through transportation PA increased when employees had access to showers and incentives to bike/walk (odds ratio [OR] = 1.6; 95% confidence interval [CI] = 1.16-2.22); showers and maps (OR = 1.25; 1.02-1.55); maps and incentives to bike/walk (OR = 1.48; 1.04-2.12).

CONCLUSION: Various combinations of WSS may increase the likelihood that employees will meet PA recommendations. Many are of low or no cost, including flexible time for exercise and maps of worksite-adjacent walk/bike routes. Findings may be instructive for employers seeking to improve employee health through worksite PA.