PROMOTING REGULAR EXERCISE IN ORGANIZATIONAL FITNESS PROGRAMS - HEALTH-RELATED DIFFERENCES IN MOTIVATIONAL BUILDING-BLOCKS

Hypotheses are proposed about relations among ''building block'' compo nents of the motivation to attain exercise goals in an organizational fitness program, as well as about health-related individual difference s in those components. The hypotheses are tested in a longitudinal fie ld study involving questionnaire, physiological, and behavioral data f rom 107 participants in such a program. In support of the componential hypotheses, goal attainment was a positive function of goal commitmen t. Goal commitment was an additive function of goal attractiveness and goal-specific self-efficacy/perceived control. In support of the indi vidual difference hypotheses, physiological variables were associated with work- and health-related perceived barriers to goal attainment. E mployees with high health risks ranged from .5 to 1.2 SDs higher in pe rceived barriers than employees with low risks. Evidence suggests that for goal setting to succeed as a program intervention, managers must concentrate on reducing the perceived work- and health-related barrier s to exercise participation and goal attainment, especially for employ ees with high health risks.