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108
to participate in a culture that supports health. However, inconsistent messaging that prioritizes
high performance in one’s job over participation in physical activity left respondents feeling
unsure of the organization’s actual support.
Recognition of Value. One theme that emerged with unanticipated frequency was the
idea that physical activity programming was a university benefit that acknowledged employee
value and hard work. For several participants, a free physical activity program showed that the
university affirmed their worth and appreciated their contributions. Diana offered:
It makes me feel empowered that that's something that was thought about for us to be
able to participate in because I've worked in several different departments and that has
not been offered to me. So I was very grateful that they had taken into consideration the
work that we do. We do need things like that…. And, really like, letting people know,
like, “Thank you for your work. We're offering this program for you, free of cost to
attend. And it's not just for students.” So I think that's something that they need to
strongly consider being that Student Affairs is a stressful work environment. So if we felt
supported from the university, then maybe things will be a little different and the turnover
wouldn't be so high.
For Diana, feeling valued and appreciated, and having the difficulty of her job acknowledged
with a program that helps her mitigate the stressful effects of her job, is a benefit the university
should make more overt in discussions of the program.
Francesca offered similar comments at the end of her interview, when asked if there was
anything she wanted to add. Francesca said, “I’m very glad—I think programs like this are a big
benefit of being at PCU and a big place that kind of, you know, can offer these sorts of things. If
I worked at a small nonprofit or whatever, it just wouldn't be possible.” For Francesca, the Get
Object Description
| Title | Physical activity interventions to reduce rates of sedentary behavior among university employees: a promising practice study |
| Author | DeFrank, Ginny Mary |
| Author email | ginnydefrank@gmail.com;defrank@usc.edu |
| Degree | Doctor of Education |
| Document type | Dissertation |
| Degree program | Organizational Change and Leadership (On Line) |
| School | Rossier School of Education |
| Date defended/completed | 2020-06-19 |
| Date submitted | 2020-08-11 |
| Date approved | 2020-08-11 |
| Restricted until | 2020-08-11 |
| Date published | 2020-08-11 |
| Advisor (committee chair) | Malloy, Courtney |
| Advisor (committee member) |
Canny, Eric Stowe, Kathy |
| Abstract | The purpose of this study was to understand factors influencing employee participation in a university-offered physical activity program to inform recommendations for other institutions of higher education seeking to address high rates of university employee sedentary behavior with physical activity programming. The instructor-led program was held four times per week beginning at noon each day and lasted one hour in duration on a university campus in the western United States. The program, which was offered at no cost to employees, typically served 20-30 participants each week. The Clark and Estes Gap Analytic Framework (2008) was employed to assess relevant knowledge, motivation, and organizational influences affecting university employee engagement with the physical activity program. The study utilized a convergent parallel mixed methods design, engaging 24 university employees by means of a fifty-four-item quantitative survey. Six survey respondents also participated in interviews. Research findings revealed the importance of the interplay of employee factual and metacognitive knowledge, as well as motivation influences including self-efficacy and expectancy value within the organization’s cultural models and settings. Recommendations for other institutions seeking to engage employees in physical activity were informed by the findings and supported by a review of literature. Recommendations include the use of training, communication strategies, information guides, modeling, and opportunities for reflection to meet employee knowledge and motivational needs. Evaluating and changing organizational policies, cultural values, and existing physical activity programming was recommended to ensure employees understand an organization’s support for participation in physical activity. Additionally, implications for practice involved a focus on the role of instructors and the development of communities of continuity to support and improve rates of university employee engagement in physical activity during the workday. |
| Keyword | sedentary behavior; physical activity; workplace physical activity; physical activity intervention; university physical activity; exercise |
| Language | English |
| Part of collection | University of Southern California dissertations and theses |
| Publisher (of the original version) | University of Southern California |
| Place of publication (of the original version) | Los Angeles, California |
| Publisher (of the digital version) | University of Southern California. Libraries |
| Provenance | Electronically uploaded by the author |
| Type | texts |
| Legacy record ID | usctheses-m |
| Contributing entity | University of Southern California |
| Rights | DeFrank, Ginny Mary |
| Physical access | The author retains rights to his/her dissertation, thesis or other graduate work according to U.S. copyright law. Electronic access is being provided by the USC Libraries in agreement with the author, as the original true and official version of the work, but does not grant the reader permission to use the work if the desired use is covered by copyright. It is the author, as rights holder, who must provide use permission if such use is covered by copyright. The original signature page accompanying the original submission of the work to the USC Libraries is retained by the USC Libraries and a copy of it may be obtained by authorized requesters contacting the repository e-mail address given. |
| Repository name | University of Southern California Digital Library |
| Repository address | USC Digital Library, University of Southern California, University Park Campus MC 7002, 106 University Village, Los Angeles, California 90089-7002, USA |
| Repository email | cisadmin@lib.usc.edu |
| Filename | etd-DeFrankGin-8921.pdf |
| Archival file | Volume13/etd-DeFrankGin-8921.pdf |
Description
| Title | Page 117 |
| Full text | 108 to participate in a culture that supports health. However, inconsistent messaging that prioritizes high performance in one’s job over participation in physical activity left respondents feeling unsure of the organization’s actual support. Recognition of Value. One theme that emerged with unanticipated frequency was the idea that physical activity programming was a university benefit that acknowledged employee value and hard work. For several participants, a free physical activity program showed that the university affirmed their worth and appreciated their contributions. Diana offered: It makes me feel empowered that that's something that was thought about for us to be able to participate in because I've worked in several different departments and that has not been offered to me. So I was very grateful that they had taken into consideration the work that we do. We do need things like that…. And, really like, letting people know, like, “Thank you for your work. We're offering this program for you, free of cost to attend. And it's not just for students.” So I think that's something that they need to strongly consider being that Student Affairs is a stressful work environment. So if we felt supported from the university, then maybe things will be a little different and the turnover wouldn't be so high. For Diana, feeling valued and appreciated, and having the difficulty of her job acknowledged with a program that helps her mitigate the stressful effects of her job, is a benefit the university should make more overt in discussions of the program. Francesca offered similar comments at the end of her interview, when asked if there was anything she wanted to add. Francesca said, “I’m very glad—I think programs like this are a big benefit of being at PCU and a big place that kind of, you know, can offer these sorts of things. If I worked at a small nonprofit or whatever, it just wouldn't be possible.” For Francesca, the Get |
