Member Article

Why's it beneficial for employers to exercise staff?

A healthy, happy workforce, equates to a productive company, brimming with content, loyal and industrious employees. Research has proven that encouraging employees to be more active and undergo some kind of exercise at work can be an effective tool in providing your business with a productivity boost. Hadyn Luke of CMS Fitness Courses (CMSFitness), specialists in health and fitness training, explores the different ways it is beneficial for employers to exercise their staff.

Productivity boost

Research shows that employees that are engaged in regular exercise at work are more productive. According to a study published in the Journal of Occupational and Environmental Medicine (JOEM), workers who spend just 2.5 hours a week being physically active took less days off sick, were happier with the quality and quantity of their work and reported increased work ability compared to employees who engaged in no physical activity.

Exercise has long been associated with helping to keep the mind sharp, giving you more energy throughout the day and helping to boost mental output, all of which are hugely profitable when it comes to maintaining productiveness throughout the working day.

The productivity gains of encouraging a more active workforce are becoming so ubiquitous that workplace wellness programs are becoming increasingly widespread in a multitude of industries across the country. Such programmes range from constructing on-site company gyms to promoting cycle or walk to work schemes.

Improved staff morale

Employees dragging themselves to work and hardly breaking out in a smile the whole day is not conducive with a buoyant thriving business. Low staff morale can easily equate to poor concentration, lower productivity and a business achieving below its potential.

Providing employees with the opportunity to exercise during their working day and to eat healthier can have a significant impact on morale at work. Just knowing that the company an employee works for is actively trying to look after their health and wellbeing would naturally be a morale booster and beneficial both to the wellbeing on the staff and the company as a whole.

Less staff turnover

For many organisations, staff turnover costs are high and affect the performance of a business. It is therefore within every company’s interest to generate a more loyal workforce with a lower staff turnover.

With the morale boosting capabilities of exercising staff, encouraging employees to get more active can ultimately lead to a more loyal workforce and less staff turnover.

By providing employees with the opportunity to exercise and have a healthier existence at work, employers can improve wellbeing, job satisfaction and ultimately raise retention rates.

Company more attractive for potential employees

Features such as company gyms, exercise programmes, healthy eating, on-site showers and cycle to work schemes are all company perks. A business that is able to provide employees with perks is much more likely to be attractive to potential employees and help them recruit the right workers.

On-site gyms can even act as a financial incentive as they mean employees can conveniently access a gym and fit exercise into their busy schedules more easily.

A sustainable business

More and more organisations are striving to be considered ‘sustainable’. Business sustainability is often defined as managing the “triple bottom line” – financial, social and environmental risks, obligations and opportunities.

A business that actively encourages its workforce to exercise and adapt a healthier lifestyle at work, could be viewed as a social sustainable organisation with an admirable responsibility to its employees.

Being seen as socially sustainable can ultimately benefit a business as it is viewed in a more responsible, credible and proactive light.

As the welfare of staff has a direct impact on the success of a company, whether it’s having an on-site gym, erecting a bike shed and company showers, or encouraging staff to embark on a fitness program, it is within every company’s interest to encourage employees to get more active.

This was posted in Bdaily's Members' News section by CMS Fitness Courses .