ABSTRACT
Although employee fitness programmes are burgeoning, and exercise is being touted as an effective means of combating workplace stress, people nevertheless know little about what psychological processes underlie the effectiveness of exercise programmes. Exercise is not a panacea for work-related stress. Aspects of the work environment, organizational structure, or interpersonal relationships may need to be changed owing to their harmful effects. The rationale for introducing employee fitness programmes as a method of stress management has been based largely on the expectation that regular exercise reduces the negative impact of stress by improving the health of employees through the enhancement of aerobic fitness levels. Improved physical health is expected to moderate the employees' reactions to work stress. Work stress has been linked with poorer work performance, lower productivity, higher turnover, absenteeism and accidents, as well as anxiety and job dissatisfaction. Several psychological have been offered to account for the efficacy of exercise as a method of stress management.
