What can companies do to help their staff maintain a level of fitness and health that will help to make them more productive at work ...
These days there are lots of pressures on employers and company HR departments when it comes to keeping their staff happy and fulfilled.
And there are lots of rules and regulations which have to be followed and mountains of red tape to fill the day, all of which take time to deal with.
It’s difficult enough recruiting and managing staff and their needs within a company without adding more levels of responsibility to their workload.
But if you could find something which proved to be a demonstrable way of not only motivating your staff but also making them healthier and more productive, would you think it worthy of your attention?
And if it made a difference to your staff and at the same time boosted your popularity levels as well as your salary, would you investigate further?
Potential for change in the health and wellbeing of company employees
These days, there are vast amounts of material published on a daily basis about the benefits of a healthy lifestyle, in the form of exercise and fitness plans, as well as healthier eating.
And physical fitness in the workplace is a subject that is also coming under the spotlight.
It is so overwhelming that it is difficult to keep up, and there are new theories being claimed about what is best for people all the time.
One minute this food is healthy, then it isn’t, and something else comes along to take its place – you know the kind of thing when a so-called expert tells us we should be eating this food but not that one.
And the debate about low fat and higher fat continues, sugar is the enemy, proteins v carbs etc etc etc.
It is confusing just following the trend for ourselves, let alone anyone else.
So if there was an easy way of helping your staff to get more engaged with the process of becoming healthy and maintaining health, it is probably something you could get on board with – and it would help your staff to be more productive and you to be more popular too.
Changing anything is always challenging, and if you have a large amount of people working in a company, adopting wholesale programmes of changes to behaviour is not something that will happen overnight.
But the first step is to accept the need for changing and recognise how it can be of benefit to both the company and its employees.
How to engage your employer in change programmes
Sometimes educating an employer is the first stage of a process that has to happen before starting to educate employees. Especially if it involves something that the employer has to participate in and put their support into – and that could take time.
The way to highlight the benefits of a physical fitness in the workplace programme to an employer is to communicate the upsides to the company, including productivity improvements and an increase in profits and productivity.
When they understand this principle, adding the other attractions which apply from the employee’s perspective will make the process easier, as the employer will not have to act out of purely altruistic motives, although they actually could be perceived to be doing so.
If the employer is fully engaged and supportive of a new initiative it will have a better chance of success than if they are just grudgingly accepting the idea.
It can then be communicated and implemented throughout the company in the best way possible, thus ensuring maximum take-up of the idea, and hopefully embedding the change into the company’s culture.
When employees are given the chance to improve their lives and their workplace effectiveness through an initiative that has been put in place by their employer, how positively will they view the company?
And how good will this be for the company’s reputation and internal PR?
We think it has the potential to be transformative!
You can download a free video below showing a few simple core exercises that can be done anywhere - at work, home, in the garden or in the park. This is an example of the regular programme your staff would benefit from as Keep Fit Eat Fit members.
Just go to our Workplace Schemes page for more details and to enquire.
