Fitness in the workplace boosts productivity, morale | Leisure Fitness ...

Article by bizjournals.com, Recommended by Michael Brohawn, Wellness Outreach Team

By creating a wellness or fitness center in the workplace, employers can lower health-care costs, absenteeism and stress at work while at the same time increasing productivity, morale and time utilization.

It might sound like a costly proposition, but in actuality, health promotion can be relatively inexpensive, with benefits to employers and workers greatly outweighing costs, according to health and fitness professionals.

Two vital elements to the success of any program are the support of management and the participation of employees. Employers can increase the latter by taking time to assess employees? goals and needs.

?There has to be incentive for employees to be a part of that fitness and wellness program,? said Connie Mier, a fellow of the American College of Sports Medicine.

Once a company determines the goals of a wellness program, whether it is weight loss, smoking cessation, or injury reduction or other health-related issues, it can begin to determine what type of program to implement and how to go about it.

For example, if weight loss is a major goal for employees, a company could support that by providing a meeting room for a weight management program such as Weight Watchers at Work or TOPS (Taking Off Pounds Sensibly), an action that would cost next to nothing.

If employees are looking to improve healthy eating habits, a company can have vending machines stocked with healthy alternatives to the normal fare, such as fruit and pretzels. The cafeteria could also offer a low-fat entree.

To address overall health and disease prevention, an employer can offer health screenings through a local hospital, an insurance provider, or its own medical staff if the company has one. Many people are not aware of potential health problems.

?Only 25 percent of Americans who are of working age know that they have high blood pressure,? said Garry Lindsay, director of Business Partnerships at Partnership for Prevention in Washington, D.C.

Dennis Durr, a senior professional in human resources at the Society for Human Resource Management, suggests tapping into community resources such as the American Lung Association or the American Diabetes Association to promote wellness. Many offer materials or classes addressing specific health concerns that could be offered in the workplace. For example, The American Heart Association offers Heart At Work, an Internet-based program that can be individualized for employees. A subscription costs $300 per year per work site. The Web site includes instruction, a budget planning worksheet, an implementation timeline and posters so that a designated person at the company can coordinate the program.

The benefits of exercise are well-known and irrefutable, and an on-site fitness center is an attractive benefit for employees. It is, however, a costly option, roughly $125 per square foot, and one that involves liability issues, trained staff, and maintenance. Before building a fitness center, a company needs to talk to a qualified professional about liability and workers? compensation. Laws vary from state to state; in some areas, workers who injure themselves in a company fitness center are eligible to receive workers? compensation benefits.

There are less expensive ways to promote fitness that involve little or no liability for employers. A company could institute a lunchtime walking club, with incentives to encourage employees to join. Lindsay suggests that something as simple as providing a changing room and shower so employees who bike to work or exercise at lunchtime would have a place to shower and dress, can encourage exercise.

Offering employees a discount or subsidy for a membership to a local fitness center such as the YMCA removes employer liability and still offers employees a place to exercise. This option could also include family members, an attractive benefit for employees. Businesses can also bring in personal trainers or other fitness professionals to work with employees.

Allowing flex-time hours to fit in exercise is another way to encourage exercise. ?We have people working much longer hours, so we need to make it convenient to them to include an active component in their lives,? said Mier of the American College of Sports Medicine.

The U.S. surgeon general, in concert with health organizations, businesses and other agencies, set forth national health objectives called ?Healthy People 2010.? From those objectives, Partnership for Prevention identified eight work force objectives that it encourages employers to adopt, with the goal of having 75 percent of American companies participating in wellness programs, with 75 percent employee participation, by 2010.

Promoting wellness in the workplace is something every company, regardless of size and budget, can do.

Source: http://blog.leisurefitness.com/2012/12/fitness-in-the-workplace-boosts-productivity-morale/

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