Physical and mental health has become a concern for individuals who work in the office. Employees’ productivity can be affected by the working hours, noise, and environment of the workplace. Implementing corporate fitness programs can improve employee health.
The majority of city residents have desk jobs where they spend most of their time in front of computers. Imagine spending hours at a desk in the office without moving around at all. What would happen as a result?
Your body will start showing signs and consequences of inactivity and tiredness. Due to a lack of physical activity, you won’t have the energy to accomplish anything.
Since the COVID-19 pandemic, an increasing number of people start working from home. Due to the lack of routine activities like dressing in business clothing and returning to work, their lifestyles become more sedentary.
Studies show that an individual’s physical, cognitive, and social health may decrease as their life becomes more sedentary.
What factors cause corporate life to become sedentary?
The excuse “I don’t have time to work out” is the most frequently used one by employees. Employees fail to include physical activity in their daily life due to job and family commitments.
According to the US Department of Health and Human Services, 60% of employees do not get enough daily exercise.
As we all know, people nowadays are highly dependent on digital devices for work and entertainment purposes. As a result, life becomes sedentary when employees spend most of their time sitting in front of laptops or playing mobile devices.
How much time an individual spends on physical activity should be a measurement of a sedentary lifestyle. A sedentary lifestyle means spending a lot of hours sitting still and not moving at all.
Employees in the business environment spend a lot of time sitting at their desks. Sitting for a long time is harmful to their health. It leads to obesity, excess body fat, and increased blood pressure.
Drawbacks of a sedentary lifestyle in the workplace
As before said, the majority of us spend long hours at our desks. People spend more time on sedentary activities like playing video games on their phones during office breaks.
Such inactivity might reduce productivity and increase stress. According to researchers, 52% of young employees do not have enough time to exercise.
Here are some details that explain the dangers of living a sedentary lifestyle.
- Employees who spend a lot of time sitting still at work are more likely to put on weight and burn fewer calories.
- The lack of physical activity causes employees to lose muscular strength and endurance.
- We are aware that physical activity lowers stress hormone levels and improves mood. Employee physical and mental health are harmed by prolonged sitting and lack of physical activity. The brain might get congested, which may reduce positive thinking.
- Our daily meal is broken down into fats and sugars. It requires a way to release energy, therefore exercising helps you burn calories and keep your metabolism functioning normally. Food becomes harder to break down into sugar and fats when people don’t have enough physical activity. As a result, it accumulates in the body, causing metabolic abnormalities.
What is a corporate fitness program?
A corporate fitness program is a wellness initiative that is offered by a company to its employees. These programs can include a variety of activities and resources, such as step challenges, stretch breaks, health screenings, and wellness education. The goal of a corporate fitness program is to promote the overall health and well-being of employees, which can lead to improved productivity, reduced absenteeism, and lower healthcare costs for the company.
Corporate fitness programs can be customized to meet the needs and interests of different employees. By offering a variety of wellness resources and activities, a corporate fitness program can help employees maintain a healthy lifestyle and improve their overall well-being.
The advantages of corporate fitness programs
It takes a lot of work and time to develop daily exercise as a habit. A person forms a habit between 18 and 254 days. Companies should consider promoting fitness programs in the workplace on a daily basis.
Due to long hours of sitting and stressful work schedules, employee well-being becomes a topic of concern. Therefore, introducing corporate wellness programs is a great way to improve employee wellness.
How do corporate fitness programs improve employees’ fitness levels?
Improve energy and activity levels
In the long term, regular exercise will make you feel less exhausted. Employees will not experience fatigue and will have the energy to complete their tasks. Employees can walk for 15 minutes during their lunch breaks to keep motivated and active all day.
Reduce pressure
Corporate fitness programs educate employees on how to work more effectively both mentally and physically.
Employees spend a significant amount of time sitting in front of computers. Long periods of inactivity and continuous sitting are two major causes of working pressure. Furthermore, employees’ eyes get strained from staring at a screen for a long period of time.
Corporate fitness programs provide employees with tips and events on dealing with stress and muscular spasms at work. Employees are encouraged to participate in activities such as arm stretching or mini workouts to break up the monotony.
Improve work performance
According to the research conducted by the National Business Group on Health and the Towers Watson organization, they found that employees in organizations with corporate fitness programs tend to have better work performance than those in companies without fitness programs.
Introducing regular exercise in the workplace results in greater productivity. Exercise reduces fatigue, boosts well-being, and gives individuals more energy.
Employees will feel happy and energetic via corporate wellness programs. Additionally, they will be more effective and productive on their assigned tasks.
Improve teamwork
The foundation of a company’s development is teamwork. Individuals will stay motivated and inspired in a team and achieve their goals together by working as a team.
Building corporate fitness programs will connect employees and encourage internal communications. Colleagues’ relationships are improved, which is essential for team formation.
9 corporate fitness programs to improve employee health
Corporate fitness programs enhance employees’ mental and physical health. They improve the workplace culture. These fitness programs highlight the value of leading a healthy lifestyle.
There are various fitness apps that can monitor an individual’s fitness status all the time.
Here are 9 corporate fitness program ideas that can help improve employee wellness.
Healthy lunch and nutritious snacks program
Most employees don’t have time to prepare healthy homemade food during weekdays. That is why they prefer to buy fast food because they barely have 30 minutes to finish their lunch.
Long-term consumption of fast food can increase cholesterol and sugar levels and lead to weight gain.
Promoting healthy eating in the workplace helps everyone. Healthy lunch and snacks programs can attract all employees to pay attention to their daily meals. This program can inspire people to alter their eating habits.
Company fitness challenges
Company fitness challenges are a good way to promote healthy lives among your employees. Due to their busy schedules, employees may not have enough time to exercise. There are various types of company fitness challenges, employees can enjoy different physical activities.
Step challenge is one of the most popular fitness challenges in the workplace. It is a challenge that tracks the number of steps a person takes during the challenge period. Office step challenges can help create friendly competition in the workplace while also encouraging healthy living. Learn more about the best office fitness challenge apps.
Company fitness challenges encourage healthy lifestyles among employees and motivate them to achieve their fitness goals. Pacer for Teams is an easy-to-use platform for organizations to manage fitness challenges for their employees.
Outdoor adventure
Stress and anxiety can be eliminated by nature. Having an outdoor adventure while away from the humdrum of city life refreshes the mind and reduces stress.
An increasing number of companies encourage their employees to take periodic breaks from their work environment. Enjoying a hike outside of the city or taking a short road trip to a neighboring national park are also some good ideas for fitness adventures. People will have fun while achieving their fitness goals.
Onsite fitness classes
Making onsite fitness classes available to employees shows that a company cares about its employee wellness. According to studies, employees who have the chance to exercise regularly feel much less stressed at work.
It is hard to start participating in exercise or physical activities for people who have never done it before. They feel extremely hesitant to join a fitness program.
A good way for people to start exercising is by offering fitness sessions at work that are accessible and convenient. They can learn how to exercise in a short time.
Onsite fitness activities will increase their level of fitness knowledge and confidence, help them become healthier and more active. The best thing is that they will not have to travel between the office and the gym because the programs are available in the same building they are working at.
Employees should have the option of attending the classes before or after work. Just make sure you provide a variety of onsite exercise sessions to accommodate the people who work different shifts.
Take a nap
A nice snooze recharges everyone. Employees become exhausted and fatigued after working continuously for a long time.
A lot of companies allow employees to take a quick afternoon sleep. Employees might take a break in the afternoon and return to work with renewed energy. Having powerful naps will enhance the cognitive function of the brain, boost learning, and raise productivity at work.
Meditation sessions
Have you ever become overwhelmed and lost track of your work?
When you work 9 hours a day, 5 days a week, it can be challenging to maintain your attention. An endless list of tasks and a hectic work schedule can cause worry and anxiety. Overwork is a burden that occupies your thoughts and your mental health.
Mindfulness meditation has many benefits, especially at work. Employees can learn how to respond calmly to problems and stress by taking meditation sessions. A good attitude and clear mind will help them overcome difficulties.
Employees who join the meditation sessions regularly will feel more comfortable when stressful topics come to mind. And having meditation sessions also helps them to control their emotions when they feel down.
Session of behavioral therapy
Desk jobs are stressful, and spending a long time inactively can lower metabolism and lead to mental health problems. According to the research, long durations of sitting may harm some brain regions. Employees become less concentrated, and unfriendly thoughts appear.
Offering behavioral therapy sessions will significantly improve employees’ mental health. It will assist in identifying and eliminating negative ideas that are bad for the brain. The sessions will increase employees’ concentration and help them solve problems.
Employee assistance program
An Employee Assistance Program (EAP) is a confidential counseling and support service provided to employees to help them manage work and personal challenges. Some key features of an EAP include:
- Confidentiality: Employees can receive support and counseling without fear of their personal issues affecting their employment.
- Wide range of services: EAPs typically offer a range of services, including counseling, financial planning, legal advice, and more.
- On-demand support: Employees can access support and counseling as needed, without having to take time off work.
- Cost-effective: EAPs are often provided as a benefit to employees at little or no cost to the employee, making them a cost-effective way to support employee well-being.
- Improved employee engagement and productivity: By providing support for employees who are facing challenges, EAPs can help improve engagement and productivity, and reduce absenteeism.
- Customizable: EAPs can be customized to meet the specific needs of an organization and its employees, making them a flexible and adaptable tool for improving employee well-being.
Health resources and newsletters
Start a corporate newsletter that emphasizes the value of workplace wellness and health. Introducing new concepts in fitness, nutrition, and wellness education can increase your employees’ awareness and sensitivity to them.
Some topics you can include in the newsletter:
- Healthy recipes. Include some simple healthy recipes that people would be more likely to try.
- Workplace healthy tips. Provide office health tips in the newsletter, such as the benefits of a healthy lunch, and ideas for how to relieve stress at work.
- Exercise tips. Offer simple fitness activity tips for employees, such as morning stretching activities or some easy yoga poses.
Conclusion
Do you spend most of your time sitting in front of computers and fewer hours in physical activities?
You have probably heard the phrase couch potato already. It is quite frequently seen in our workplace.
A sedentary lifestyle negatively impacts an employee’s work performance, productivity, and physical and mental health. It is difficult for employees to find time to work out regularly.
Thus, corporate fitness programs are essential to educating employees about maintaining healthy lifestyles. Employers should take full responsibility for building a healthy work environment and fighting against employees’ unhealthy habits. A healthy employee will be more productive and more likely to stay on the job.
Employers would not want unhealthy and unhappy people working for them since they would not have good performance in the company. Therefore, a happy and healthy employee is far more valuable to a company than one who is stressed out. Learn more about incorporating wellness programs with a workplace wellness calendar. Corporate wellness programs will make employees feel motivated and happy in the workplace.
