Employee recreation in New Zealand: a pilot study

Abstract

This study investigates executive and employee attitudes towards employee recreation. A mail survey was conducted among 11 private sector companies in Christchurch. The issues examined include the organisation of recreational opportunities for employees, the perceived personal and company barriers to the development of employee recreation programmes and the perceived benefits from regular participation in employee recreation.

Results of this study indicate executives and employees would like more recreational opportunities available at their workplaces. A significant proportion of executives have indicated that the managing director would have the greatest influence in establishing a company programme. Employees however, suggest that managers and employees together would exert an influence in establishing a programme.

The personal and company benefits of regular participation in an employee recreation programme are apparent to both executives and employees. The two most important perceived personal benefits from regular participation are" increased personal fitness" and "relief from stress". The company benefits perceived as most likely to occur from regular participation, are “an improvement in communication between staff” and "an increase in individual work performance".

Executives and employees consider the factors most restrictive to their participation to be involvement in fitness activities outside work and lack of time to commit to fitness. Executives believe that the range of recreational interests among staff would hinder the development of an employee recreation programme. In contrast, employees believe that the cost of establishing a programme would ultimately affect its development.