Physical activity promotion in Sudbury-area call centres : employers' perspectives / by Sheila Joan Renton.

Abstract

A 2004 report from the Ontario Chief Medical Officer of Health identified the workplace as a key setting for the implementation of strategies for the promotion of physical activity as part of a plan to help Ontarians achieve and maintain healthy weights (Chief Medical Officer of Health (Ontario), 2004). A concurrent, embedded mixed methods design was used to explore the responses of call centres employers within the City of Greater Sudbury to the Chief Medical Officer of Health’s recommendations, to develop an understanding of current practices in call centre workplaces that support physical activity, and to investigate employers’ motivation to implement physical activity promotion, as well as perceived facilitators and barriers. Face-to-face, semi-structured interviews and quantitative questionnaires were completed between February and July 2009 with fifteen managers in ten of the twelve call centres identified by the Growth and Development Department of the City of Greater Sudbury. Results provided insight into the employers’ motivation to implement physical activity promotion initiatives as they relate to three particular themes: The Employer Reaps the Benefits, Concern for Employee Well-being, and a sense of The Greater Good. Several internal and external facilitators for the promotion of physical activity were identified. Factors which create barriers to physical activity promotion within call centres were described by three themes: The Nature of Call Centre Work, Concerns of Managers, and Characteristics o f the Call Centre. This study extends the research knowledge on the topic of physical activity promotion within call centres and leads to six recommendations for action at local and provincial levels which are expected to promote the health of call centre employees, and possibly other Ontario workers.