Physical activity in managing stress among managers during the COVID-19 pandemic – A systematic review

Abstract

Introduction: During the COVID-19 pandemic managers experienced additional stress connected with taking responsibility for workers at the time of a worldwide crisis. Maintaining a high level of physical activity in this specific group possibly could have contributed to keeping both management skills and health condition at a high required standard. The purpose of this review is to verify the range of scientific interest on the subject of physical activity among managers as a stress coping strategy during the pandemic. Materials and Methods: For this systematic review six studies were chosen (two of them are qualitative descriptive, three are cross-sectional, one is a report). The inclusion criteria were as follows: studies focusing on stress, physical activity and managers; studies conducted in the years of COVID-19 epidemic available in full-text. The exclusion criteria applied to studies where the managers’ group was not specified. The number of study participants ranged from 20 to 255. Results: The frequency of exercise was insufficient and unsuitable to the managers’ specific needs, especially during the demanding time of the COVID-19 pandemic. Conclusions: The managers were highly aware of the role of sport in lowering stress and improving health, especially during the pandemic. However, this has not resulted in more frequent physical activity among this group. There is a high probability that further confronting the leaders with their real physical activity daily habits would have influenced their reflection about the subject and initiated change.