Boosting hope: group exercise for the wellbeing of employees

Purpose As workplace wellbeing suffers, hope becomes a vital, but frequently overlooked, resource. Hope, defined as the mindset for setting and reaching goals, is key to improving this situation. The purpose of this study is to test whether a brief, group-based exercise program can boost hope in sedentary working women. Design/methodology/approach This experiment assessed how a four-week Zumba® program affected hope levels compared to maintaining a sedentary lifestyle. The final sample compared 23 women in the exercise group to 20 women in the control (sedentary) group. Findings Over four weeks, participants in the exercise group showed a significant rise in hope compared to controls. Since hope strongly predicts job performance, job satisfaction and resilience, especially among women, these findings highlight a simple, cost-effective way to strengthen employee wellbeing and satisfaction. This study offers promising evidence that hope can be actively built through social physical activity, providing a powerful tool for workplace wellness. Originality/value To the best of the authors’ knowledge, this is the first experimental study that investigates the impact of group exercise on the concept of hope.