Active at work
Encouraging staff to stay active and well can help to prevent many health conditions as well as reduce stress and help to improve mood. New research shows that sitting could be the new smoking and being inactive increases risk of many health issues such as heart disease, high blood pressure, type 2 diabetes and some cancers.
Providing staff access to workplace physical initiatives can help to:
- reduce their stress and increase their sense of wellbeing
- lead to increased staff retention
- make staff feel supported.
Creating a workplace culture that supports and encourages people to be active can help to increase job satisfaction and productivity. You can create a active workplace by:
- displaying information on ways to increase physical activity through the work day
- provide flexible work hours to support exercise e.g. start, finish and lunchtimes to attend an exercise class
- encourage meetings that reduce sitting times e.g. walking meetings or standing meetings
- organise a workplace walking group and encourage staff participation
- provide bike racks to encourage active travel.