Why should businesses encourage exercise?

senior exercises

While the health benefits of regular exercise are well-known, you may not realise that encouraging your employees to exercise together in the workplace can have positive effects on their productivity and wellbeing as well as the bottom line of your organisation: 

The health benefits of regular exercise

It’s no secret that regular exercise is essential for good health; frequent physical activity has been proven to aid weight loss, boost energy levels and improve mental health and wellbeing; it’s also been proven to reduce the risk of serious illnesses including cardiovascular disease, strokes, bowel cancer, breast cancer and osteoarthritis. To put it simply, partaking in regular exercise is likely to add years on to your life and improve your physical and mental health.

The organisational benefits of regular exercise

Whereas companies may obviously benefit from having healthy employees who live for longer, there are plenty of reasons why businesses may decide to encourage exercise amongst their employees; the more workers commit to an exercise regime, the lower the rate of absence and sickness is likely to be, which means that companies can save money in sick pay and cover staff fees; employees who work out are more likely to be happy and productive in their roles, and less likely to jump ship to a competitor; physical activities carried out in a group can also go a long way in encouraging workmates to bond and team-build.  

workout stairs

How can companies incentivise exercise? 

Although the concept of exercising in the workplace is far from new, the more relaxed and informal work culture that’s developed over the past decade (especially given the rise of remote working) has led to businesses employing increasingly outlandish tactics to incentivise exercise, from giving out free gym memberships to establishing morning yoga meetings. In recent years, we’ve even seen companies incentivise exercise by paying their employees extra to work out and offering prizes to those who’ve achieved specified goals or milestones – while this may not be realistic for smaller companies or those on a limited budget, it’s certainly an effective way of getting staff into the gym!

What can you do to prevent your employees from getting injured?

While proper insurance is a must for any business or employer, it can be especially useful if any employees were to have an accident when exercising at work. In order to avoid employees making workplace personal injury claims, ensure that you follow health and safety guidelines to a tee, and always conduct thorough risk assessments before you allow your employees to take part in any form of physical activity on your watch.