THINK FIT!
The British Heart Foundation have produced a guide to develop workplace activity programmes to help lower sickness levels and improve the health of the business.Sickness levels in the UK are costing the economy £11.6 billion (2004)."A reduction in sickness absence and increase in productivity can result from better management of employees health" (department of health).
Why physical activity is important for your workforce.
Half of our waking hours are spent at work and many jobs involve long periods of being inactive. Reducing time spent sitting can be the first important step in achieving the recommended healthy goal of 30 minutes activity a day 5 days a week. However only 37% of men and 24% of women in England are active at this level (2004).
Approximately One in Four are not active at all which is causing 6,000 premature deaths in the UK and costing the economy £2 billion per year (Department of culture, media and sports/sStrategy Unit 2002).
In 1998 there were over 18 million days of medically certified sickness absence atributable to obesity and 40,000 lost years of working life.
How Physical Activity helps:
The benefits of physical activity for your workforce include the following:
- Increase in activity level can help to protect against coronary heart disease, strokes, obesity, type 2 diabetes, hypertension, colorectal cancer, stress, anxiety, osteoarthritis, osteoporosis, low back pain (world health organisation 2002).
- Physical active employees take 27% fewer days off sick leave which equates to over 2 days improved attendance and a saving of £135 per employee per year (physical activity task force 2003).
- Active people report less illness and recover more quickly from the illnesses they get (Shephard 1997)
- Employees engaged in physical activity initiatives have reported greater enjoyment of their work, increased concentration and mental alertness, Improved co-operation and rapport with colleagues (Shephard 1997 & 2002).
- Support of physical activities initiatives presents a positive image both to the outside world and employees.
- A workplace environment that fosters physical activity and good health can contribute to the health and wellbeing of all employees.
Ill health is costly to business for a number of reasons.
- Cost of absenteeism and long term sick pay
- Cost of temporary staff
- Loss of production
- Retention of staff, staff turnover and early retirement
Ill health may also contribute to:
- Low moral
- Decreased job satisfaction
- Industrial injuries
Physical Inactivity is a substantial risk factor for:
- Diabetes Type 2, heart disease
- Some forms of cancer
- Osteoporosis
- Obesity
Physical activity contributes to the health of your business through:
- Increase in productivity, Improving absenteeism and ability to return to work after illness
- Retaining staff
- Reducing workplace injuries
- Improving work ability among older employees
- Creating a positive corporate image
- Reducing industrial injuries
- Improving moral and health of the workforce
- Helping your business achieve Health At Work awards