Get Vigorous with Physical Exercise and Improve Your Well-Being at Work!

• Main Authors: Ester Gil-Beltrán, Isabella Meneghel, Susana Llorens, Marisa Salanova
• Format: Article
• Language: English
• Published: MDPI AG 2020-09-01
• Series: International Journal of Environmental Research and Public Health
• Subjects: physical exercise; well-being; vigor; job satisfaction; positive affect; stress
• Online Access: https://www.mdpi.com/1660-4601/17/17/6384

The aim of this study is to investigate whether people who exercise regularly have higher levels of psychological well-being at work. Doing physical exercise is a habit that not only has consequences for physical and mental health, but it can also have positive consequences for organizations because physical exercise makes it easier for the employee to recover from physical, mental, and emotional effort during the workday, thus showing higher levels of engagement the next day. Through the analysis of structural equation models in a sample of 485 workers from different Spanish and Latin American companies, this study shows that subjects who exercise more have higher levels of vigor in physical exercise, which is positively related to high levels of well-being at work. This means that organizations that promote activities related to physical exercise among their employees are building a process of resource recovery, which, through the vigor of these activities, makes workers feel less stressed and more satisfied, thus experiencing greater well-being at work. Therefore, at a practical level, these results suggest that the practice of physical exercise is a tool for organizations that want to promote their employees’ psychological well-being.