Exercise is essential to maintaining good health, a balanced mood, and overall wellbeing. The role of exercise in our lives only becomes more important as we age.
It can be quite difficult for most employees to throw fitness into the mix, whilst struggling to tend to their work and home lives. In fact, ‘The Economics of Exercise…’ highlights the fact that a lack of employee physical activity could cost UK businesses up to £6.6 billion – lacking employee fitness has real, tangible impacts on your business.
Being the owner of your company, you must devise some ways that may help you lower the healthcare cost you are bearing for the better health of your employees or staff. Having been followed practically, these fruitful ways will drop illness-related absences among your employees and enable them to deal with stress in a more productive way. These things will not only boost the morale of your employees and encourage teamwork among them but will also enhance their productivity at the workplace. When your employees feel better physically, they will definitely perform better mentally.
Here, we have enlisted a few things you can do to encourage your company’s staff to exercise more and to enhance physical fitness at the workplace so that both you and your workers may run the business more conveniently and effectively.
Create and launch a health and wellness program
It will not take much of your precious time to create and launch a suitable health and wellness program for your working staff, but it will grant you numerous benefits regarding your business. You must make this program a big deal so that your employees may get excited about it. Improve the awareness about your program and convince each and every employee to carry out and track his/her day-long physical activity as per your given program.
Bless your staff with pedometers as a welcome gesture to your program
To start with, you may grant pedometers to your staff members as welcome gifts to your program. These pedometers may be managed from the market branded with your logo or company name and you may hand them personally to each of your workers. With the help of this tool, they will be able to track the steps they walk each day. This small but noticeable lifestyle change will make a huge difference to their health and fitness and impart an appreciable boom to your business as well.
Place refillable water bottles at various places of your workplace
Beyond all doubts, water is the best universal regulator that performs its excellent role in almost every function of our internal metabolism. It keeps us healthy and fit without affecting our budget. Instead of managing other energy or calorie drinks for your workers, you must encourage them to drink more and more fresh water to maintain their health and fitness. In order to facilitate them properly in this regard, you may place refillable water bottles at different and easily-reachable spots of your workplace. Drinking this natural tonic will keep them away from a lot of health disorders and, hence, they will be better able to perform their job.
Encourage them to walk more and use stairs instead of lifts
Walking keeps our limbs strong and our health up to the mark. You should encourage your staff to leave their office seat during the lunch break and walk to some restaurants to have their lunch. Besides, it will also be very helpful if they use stairs instead of lifts to reach the attic floors so that they may remain fit and active. It will keep them fresh even till late hours and they will keep working with the same energy level.
Gym Discounts
An easy way to nudge employees to exercise is to strike up a partnership with a nearby gym or fitness center, ideally one close to your workplace. Contact prospective gyms via phone, email, or an in-person chat to let the owner know you would like to refer your employees to their business in exchange for a membership discount.
Not only will the gym you partner with increase its revenue, but you will provide an extra incentive for your employees to start exercising regularly.
What about an onsite gym?
Having an onsite gym, complete with exercise equipment, healthy snacks, and drinks, would be the ultimate way to help your employees get active.
Not only that, but it also doesn’t have to break the bank – renting serviced offices from reputable companies such as BE Offices means you may have an easily-accessible and affordable gym already onsite. With unlimited gym usage and easy-to-use onsite gyms and showers, your company’s staff do not even have to leave the building to exercise more.
You will reap massive rewards in increased employee loyalty, less sick days taken and a discount on your company health insurance plan! Renting such an office will be well worth it.
Encourage exercise groups
If your company does not have the ability to develop an onsite gym for your employees, encourage the joining and formation of exercise groups instead..
Such options cost little to no money, but still get your employees up and moving! As a result, you will sure enough see a boost in positive results across your business.
Workspace Flexibility
One very simple way to get employees to exercise is by allowing them flexibility when it comes to their workplace. Why not let your human resources managers sit on her balance ball instead of her desk chair? That way, she strengthens and stabilizes her core muscles – the key to good health – while she works.
Similarly, allowing your accountant to keep and use resistance tubes or weights in his own space will allow him to get stronger and more toned during his lunch hour. A 2011 study conducted by the Stanford School of Medicine showed that short bursts of exercise during the workday may increase efficacy and efficiency, so your company could gain significant benefits as well!
The bottom line
Remember, your employees never have to run a marathon every week to remain healthy and fit. Only these small lifestyle changes like the ones mentioned in this article will be enough to serve the purpose.
