The impact of working life on health behavior: the effect of job strain on the cognitive predictors of exercise

The theory of planned behavior (TPB) and R. A. Karasek's (1979) job strain model were used to investigate the predictors of exercise in a group of employees. A total of 241 employees completed an initial questionnaire; 1 week later 213 employees responded to a questionnaire measuring behavior. Employees in high-strain jobs did significantly less exercise than those in low-strain jobs, although they did not intend to do less, suggesting that work may impede the intention implementation. Intenders who failed to exercise had significantly higher work demands and lower exercise self-efficacy than intenders who succeeded in exercising. Work also affected exercise indirectly through self-efficacy. Thus, work may be a target for behavior change intervention because of its impact at 2 stages of the TPB.