A healthy workplace can help employees stay motivated, improve their productivity, and reduce the risk of developing various health issues. Therefore it’s crucial to maintain a healthy lifestyle, but with sedentary jobs and busy schedules, finding time to exercise can be a challenge.
But as a manager, one of the top priorities is to create a productive and healthy engaged workforce. Encouraging workplace fitness can play a significant role in accomplishing this goal, as healthy and active employees tend to be more alert, focused, and motivated. In this blog, we’ll explore the benefits of encouraging workplace fitness and how to incorporate it.
Benefits of encouraging fitness at work:
1. Reduced health risks
When employees have better occupational health, they’re less likely to develop illnesses or chronic diseases, such as musculoskeletal disorders, stress-related illnesses, and respiratory issues. This leads to a healthier and more productive workforce.
2. Decreased absenteeism
Promoting a healthy workplace and implementing physical activity at work doesn’t just reduce employees’ risk of becoming ill. It also lowers your absentee rates. It reduces the costs associated with absenteeism, such as the cost given to hiring temporary workers.
3. Improved Morale:
When employees feel supported and cared for by their employer, it can improve morale and job satisfaction. This can lead to better retention rates and a more positive work environment.
4. Increased Productivity:
When employees are healthy and fit, they are more productive. By promoting physical activity at work and providing a healthy workplace, you can help your employees stay focused, alert, and motivated.
Reasons why employees don’t feel motivated to workout:
Every employee spends long hours at their desks with little to no physical activity. And knows the benefits of regular exercise are numerous, but even knowing this, many of them still lack the motivation to add physical activity into their daily routine. This makes it challenging for the employer to encourage workplace fitness. Some of the reasons why employees don’t feel motivated:
1. Lack of support:
Employees may feel that they don’t have the social support they need to stay motivated, such as coworkers who exercise together or a company culture that values fitness. Every person needs a partner to stay consistent in their fitness journey. Some may lack that support, which is why they don’t really feel motivated.
2. Lack of time:
Many struggle to find the perfect time to exercise during a hectic workday. Yet they fail to remember that there is never a good moment to exercise. Every time is a good time to exercise so whenever you find the time just perform 2-5 mins of small workouts. To perform workouts from time to time it’s best to schedule workouts to do in our daily busy routine.
3. Different preferences:
Everyone has a different personal set of preferences and fitness goals.
4. Boredom:
Performing the same exercises repeatedly can become monotonous and make it difficult to stay motivated. Doing a similar set of exercises is boring therefore it’s important to make little changes regularly in your workout.
Despite these factors, how can employers create an environment that encourages employees to prioritize their health? Here are some effective strategies for encouraging workplace fitness.
5 Strategies for Encouraging Workplace Fitness
1. Provide opportunities for physical activity:
Offering fitness classes, wellness programs, or providing access to a gym on-site can be a great way to encourage employees to stay active. This can help create a sense of community among coworkers and foster healthy competition. Creating a culture that values health and wellness can inspire employees to make healthier choices and prioritize their fitness goals.
2. Encourage group activities:
Employees may feel more motivated to exercise if they can participate in group activities. Organizing group workouts or fitness challenges can help to create a sense of community and accountability. You can download O’Coach custom workout app to create your private corporate group and give fitness challenges in it. Plus, you can track each other progress in that group.
3. Promote regular movement breaks:
Sitting for long periods can lead to physical discomfort and health issues. Encourage employees to take regular movement breaks throughout the day. This can include standing or stretching breaks, 2-5 mins mobility workouts, walking meetings, or even implementing standing desks.
4. Provide incentives:
Incentives can be a powerful motivator for employees. Offering rewards for reaching fitness goals or participating in fitness challenges can help to create a culture of fitness within the workplace. You can create a challenge or a fitness goal to reach and if someone reaches their first then reward them with monetary or nonmonetary incentives.
5. Lead by example:
As a leader or boss, it’s important to lead by example. Encourage your team to prioritize their health and wellness, and make sure you do the same by prioritizing your own health and wellness. Incorporate physical activity into your own routine and promote healthy habits within the workplace culture.
Ready to encourage physical activity in the workplace?
Try to make it more fun with the O’Coach app.
To encourage fitness in your workplace O’Coach (100% free custom workout timer app) helps you make it fun and easy for you to make everyone get up every few hrs and do a quick and effective 2-5 mins natural movement routine anywhere, anytime and with anybody!
1. Try to introduce the O’Coach app to employees: Inform employees about the features and benefits of the O’Coach app, such as custom workouts, fitness challenges, and private communities.
2. Set up a private community: Create a private community for your workplace on the O’Coach app, where employees can connect and support each other in their fitness journeys. Plus they can also track other progress which helps them stay motivated.
3. Create fitness challenges: Using the app’s fitness challenge feature, create challenges for employees to participate in, such as step challenges or workout challenges.
4. Monitor progress & give rewards: Use the app to monitor employee participation and progress in the fitness challenges, and give rewards to your employees to help them stay motivated.
Download the 100% free O’Coach custom workout app to perform your daily 2-5 mins workout.
- You can create your own custom workout routine according to your need and preferences.
- You can add reminder schedules for your exercises based on your convenience and requirements.
- You can create a small community with your friends and supporting family members to keep you motivated and ensure progress.
