WORKPLACE FITNESS is an alien concept for many, but it has become more critical since the pandemic when staff and employers took an increased interest in health and well-being. In this article, we look at why fitness matters and what you need to know about the positives, negatives and important points to remember. Knowing what support is available to you and why this matters is critical before you embark on any plans.

So why does Workplace fitness matter?

Typically good workplace fitness provides better health across the workforce, which means fewer days off and issues resulting from prolonged sitting. It means colds and bugs that can cause inefficiencies are reduced. A healthier workforce is also noticeably happier, resulting from higher endorphins (the happy hormone), thanks to exercise. Fitness also improves functional movements and can remove niggles in the back, lower back, neck and shoulders. Companies can speak with fitness suppliers like Mirafit for advice and assistance in ordering exercise equipment.

Let’s look at a summary of the benefits.

Fitness Benefits

• Exercise Improves Focus and Productivity.
• It Helps Employees Manage Stress.
• Exercise Could Help Treat Employee Burnout.
• Exercise Can Reduce Presenteeism and Absenteeism.
• It Can Encourage Better Working Relationships.
• It reduces the dangers of a sedentary lifestyle.

In what ways could you or your employer encourage participation?

Fitness at Work – Government Incentives

Workplace fitness is a concern for employers and employees. It is also a consideration for the UK government, which provide tax breaks to businesses and provide access to resources encouraging business owners to invest in well-being infrastructure.

The UK Government states:

“Being inactive is taking a significant toll on our health and well-being – it’s as dangerous to our health as smoking. Workers can spend up to three-quarters of their day sitting down, contributing to various preventable health conditions, including the two leading causes of workplace absence: back injuries and stress, depression or anxiety.

In 2016/17, 1.3 million workers suffered from work-related ill-health, which equated to 25.7 million working days lost. This is estimated to cost £522 per employee and up to £32 billion per year for UK business.”

Here are the NHS resources for your reference.

Cycle-to-work Scheme -The UK Government brought in the cycle-to-work scheme in 1999. It has been improved and adjusted, and from 2005-2015, applauded for the Salary sacrifice scheme. The Scheme recorded more than 650,000 cycles provided in the 2005-2015 period. The Scheme is also no longer capped at £1000 and includes safety equipment.   

A Staff Gym – Your employer can provide a Staff Gym, which has become a growth area thanks to remote and hybrid working. Some employers use staff gyms to entice staff back to the office using the rented space they may no longer need due to the uptick in hybrid working.

Gym Membership – Some businesses that need more space will provide discounts to their teams to encourage activity. A few larger companies are auto-enrolling their staff to ensure fewer barriers and increasing internal communication to remind them of their gym access.

Local Club Sponsorship -Some businesses also choose to sponsor a local club, such as a tennis club or swimming club; as a benefit, they will be granted time on the court or in the pool.

An Alternative Idea – Arranging Fitness Challenges

• Take the stairs challenge. Time commitment: 1 week.
• Healthy eating challenge. Time commitment: 2 weeks.
• Walkathon steps challenge. Time commitment: 1 week.
• Meditation challenge. Time commitment: 2 weeks.
• Fun run work fitness challenge. Time commitment: 1 week.
• Morning stretches challenge.
• Starting a company, Strava Group.
• Using exercise-based activities as part of teambuilding days.

This article explained the need for fitness in the workplace and provided examples of how an employer might help their staff. We looked at quotes and links to government websites designed to help you. We have confirmed the need for workplace exercise and the health benefits to you and the commercial benefits to your employer, both in terms of tax incentives and savings from reduced sick days and, with this, improvements in productivity.

You have everything to gain

Including fitness, incentives should cost you very little as an employer, perhaps the time to administrate and set up—creating some internal policies and training for your team. A positive perception from staff means they remain highly engaged and helps retention. It will also help with recruitment, which in a changing work market with more people considering remote working a big draw, means you need to work to attract and retain your staff. 

Next steps

Speak to other businesses or people you know who have adopted fitness into their business and see what they’ve found. They will likely confirm it had a positive impact on their company culture, attendance and productivity. Then speak with your accounts team to ensure they support the idea and can access the necessary information. Look at a timeline and choose a supplier. When you are satisfied, sharing the progress with staff is a good idea so they know you are working on this for them. If you need to convenience your boss, then consider sending them a link to this article so that they might reflect and understand the benefits.