This study sets out to determine the main issues employed women with and without young children voice as influencing their physical activity behaviors, and to identify the environmental dimensions (e.g., physical, social, cultural, organizational, policy) within and outside of the workplace surrounding physical activity promotion that are most pertinent to employed women in Canada. Thirty employed women participated in focus groups, and four senior personnel were interviewed. Worksite observations were carried out and a Workplace Physical Activity Audit Tool was administered. Results indicate that time constraints and demands of personal and work life are barriers to achieving more activity. The issues surrounding family obligations and pressures for women with young children illustrate the main differences between groups. Key environmental factors are addressed and considered for future workplace physical activity programming goals.

Chronic disease interventions for women have been understudied in the workplace domain. Understanding the role of cognitions in individual behaviour can help motivate change and suggest directions for achieving improvements in health. The purpose of this study was to identify psychosocial constructs and social-cognitive theories [e.g. Transtheoretical model (TTM), Theory of Planned Behaviour (TPB), Protection Motivation Theory (PMT) and Social Cognitive Theory (SCT)] that are most salient for explaining physical activity behaviour among employed women (n = 1183). Demographic information, and social-cognitive measures related to physical activity, intention and behaviours (e.g. stage of change, energy expenditure) were assessed. A series of multiple regression analyses predicting intention, energy expenditure and stage of change were conducted separately for: (1) women with young children (n = 302), and (2) women without young children (n = 881) for each of the respective social-cognitive theories. Although taken as a whole the results were relatively similar between the two sub-groups of women for each of the socio-cognitive theories examined in this study, differences were observed in the relative contributions of the theoretical constructs between the two sub-groups. Results also indicate that self-efficacy and intention were the strongest predictors of behaviour among both women with and without young children. The explained variances (R(2)) for the theories examined in this study for different sub-groups ranged from 16 to 60%, generally reflecting what has been reported in other studies within the physical activity domain. The results of this study could be useful in guiding future research and in designing physical activity intervention programs for these specific population groups. Integrating approaches of individual lifestyle change while addressing issues related to creating supportive environments for women in various life stages is a suggested strategy for future work in this area.

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O presente artigo resulta de uma pesquisa analítica-exploratória, de cunho qualitativo e teórico, cujo objetivo foi compreender o papel da Psicologia brasileira na resposta à pandemia de Covid-19, no contexto de crise do capitalismo neoliberal. Para tanto, foi realizado um levantamento das produções acadêmicas publicadas em 2020 e 2021, totalizando 282 artigos, distribuídos em 51 periódicos. Os dados foram submetidos à análise de conteúdo, sendo categorizados e discutidos à luz da crítica da sociedade do cansaço de Byung-Chul Han. Os resultados foram organizados em macro categorias e subcategorias, em dois eixos: saúde mental e interseccionalidade. A partir da discussão do material obtido, oferecemos tanto um panorama geral das publicações da Psicologia brasileira na resposta da pandemia, quanto uma análise dos conteúdos dos artigos em relação à crítica do capitalismo neoliberal. Concluímos argumentando que o papel da Psicologia oscila entre a crítica e a manutenção psicopolítica da sociedade neoliberal.