Exploring Leisure Physical Activity as a Moderator for Occupational Stress and Mental/Physical Wellbeing

Plan APrevious research has shown mixed findings on whether leisure time physical activity aids in areas of life beyond the direct benefits of physical wellbeing. The purpose of this study was to investigate leisure time physical activity as a moderator between occupational stress and several outcomes relevant to the workplace. These factors include work absenteeism, perceived mental health and musculoskeletal pain. A total of 202 respondents completed a survey via Prolific.com.Results indicated a positive significant relationship between occupational stress and musculoskeletal pain. However, leisure time physical activity was not found to moderate the effects of occupational stress and mental/physical wellbeing. Implications of this study suggest exploring other ways in order to relieve musculoskeletal pain brought on by occupational stress. Additional implications suggest exploring other reasons for work absenteeism other than just occupational stress. Because occupational stress, musculoskeletal pain, and perceived mental health are found to be related, future research should focus on other factors that could affect occupational stress and its effects on musculoskeletal pain and perceived mental health. Finally, it may be possible that occupational stress is not a strong enough predictor of work absenteeism and that there may be other underlying factors affecting work absenteeism