Frequency of physical activity and sports participation and workplace absenteeism. An analysis of the Spanish case
DOI:
https://doi.org/10.47197/retos.v82.119109Keywords:
Frequency of physical activity and sports participation, occupational health, presenteeism, workplace absenteeismAbstract
Introduction: Voluntary and unjustified workplace absenteeism has emerged as a complex challenge associated with chronic exhaustion, work-life imbalance, and presenteeism.
Objective: This study aims to analyze the potential relationship between the frequency of physical activity and sports participation and unjustified workplace absenteeism, while also assessing the influence of sociodemographic, occupational, and health variables.
Methodology: The research was conducted using a battery of scales administered to a sample of 569 workers distributed across Spain. Diverse instruments were utilized, including an econometric interval regression model to assess workplace absences, the WHO-ILO work stress scale, and an item from the National Health Survey to measure the frequency of physical activity and sports participation.
Results: The results confirmed that unjustified workplace absenteeism is a multifactorial phenomenon, with variables of a diverse nature proving to be statistically significant.
Discussion: Emotional tension and job instability act as stressors that increase unjustified workplace absences. Conversely, an adequate work-family balance, alongside other forms of worker-company relations, reduces these absences.
Conclusions: The most significant finding of the study confirms that physical and sports activities, assessed through their frequency of practice, serve as a protective factor against unjustified absenteeism, demonstrating an inverse and statistically significant relationship between these variables.
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