Promoting fitness in the workplace

Helping employees to become more active in the workplace.

Workplace Wellbeing is an important part of any organisation; it creates a positive environment for employees while also encouraging them to focus on their personal health and wellness. This in turn results in happier, healthier, more satisfied employees.

Being active is one component of workplace wellbeing that many organisations are focusing on, and it’s no wonder; exercise is scientifically known to increase energy levels and thereby improving productivity. It’s easy to list the benefits and acknowledge the need to encourage employees to move more but it can be more difficult to come up with ways to motivate people, particularly in larger organisations.

Go digital.

Not everyone is into bootcamp classes or hillwalking, some people just want some encouragement to move a little more. For this reason, in some organisations encouraging fitness through a digital means is the most effective way to get people moving. It’s a cost-friendly and fun way to get encourage activity, boost moods and create a little healthy competition. Step challenges using wearable tech to measure daily step counts is a great way to get employees moving more throughout the day. You can also give rewards for most workout sessions logged in a month; the possibilities are endless.

Open their eyes.

A lot of people aren’t aware of their health and fitness levels and therefore don’t see the need for exercise or a change in nutritional intake. Run a companywide report on health and wellness to open their eyes and to encourage them to get moving. Data like this can be obtained through health screening and through means of a digital wellbeing platform. This kind of information can also be used as a tool for planning your wellbeing calendar!

Create fun incentives.

We all love an incentive! Appeal to your employees’ want for a sense of achievement by rewarding exceptional effort when it comes to fitness and health. How about an extra day off for the most days of exercise at the end of the year? Or maybe a free lunch for most steps taken? Make the information available for all to see and it will encourage fun and healthy competition among employees.

Adoption from management down.

A “do as I say, not as I do” attitude does not go down well with employees in any respect. If they see management getting involved in fitness activities and the HR department embracing the healthy lifestyle culture, it’s more likely to spread companywide.

Market your programmes and incentives.

There are too many companies with fitness programmes and incentives that don’t market them visibly to employees. Availability is fantastic, but visibility is the most important thing; how can they get involved if they don’t know what’s happening? It’s down to Human Resources or Employee Relations to promote and encourage exercise in the workplace. Posters in common areas and regular email reminders of upcoming activities and incentives is a positive way to inform employees of programmes and events taking place.

Interested in learning more about promoting health and wellbeing in your organisation? Read this blog post on creating a work-life balance culture >> Read