Fitness and employee productivity.

What should management consider when deciding whether to sponsor a company fitness program? This article gives pragmatic answers to the business community as well as outlining critical avenues for future research for both academics and corporations. Understanding the nature of the commitment is a prerequisite for success. Whether the program should be short term and serve as a catalyst for future individual efforts, or a long-term commitment, is a question which must be considered. Decisions of this type are partially dependent on what criteria are used to evaluate success. As measurements of employee productivity are very subjective or non-existent, absenteeism and turnover are potential yardsticks. Details of employee programs must also address the issue of participation as well as the frequency, intensity and duration. Future research must separate the effect of the fitness improvement from the benfits derived from just being in a program. The measurement of productivity and the long-term effect of fitness programs, especially short-term programs, are also areas for future work.