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Workout at the workplace
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A fit workforce pays financial dividends for a company in the long run
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THE OFFICE takes up a third of our day, and more than half of our waking hours. And work is more often than not among the most common excuses offered for not exercising. However, the office need not and should not get in the way of exercise, but getting there needs a change in attitude among labour and management.
Given the savings and increased productivity that large organisations can reap by encouraging exercise at the workplace, it is surprising that so few have taken it up. Bottomline: exercise is good not just for employees' health, but also for the company's finances in the long run. Executives and managers who roll their eyes in horror at the cost of installing a gym in the office should realise that a treadmill costs a lot less than a coronary bypass. Physically fit people are less likely to fall ill and take sick leave, and their health premiums are lower.
Ensuring that the workforce is physically fit does more than lower health costs for a company. A worker who takes an exercise break, as opposed to a tea-and-samosa break, is likely to be less stressed and will also produce work of higher quality. Twenty minutes on the treadmill is all it takes to elevate mood, reduce stress, increase blood flow to vital organs and strengthen the cardiovascular system. All this translates into better problem-solving skills, increased creativity, relaxed inter-personal relationships and a happier and more productive workplace. Physically fit individuals also tend to make a better impression on prospective clients.
So what can organisations do to promote exercise at the workplace? Most importantly, large organisations need to send a message that they encourage and promote exercise at the workplace.
If a firm makes a habit of preferring physically fit individuals over unfit ones while hiring labour, it acts as a strong incentive for everyone who wants to join that firm and also for those who already work there.
Employees need a gym and an exercise instructor, and they also need regular physical check-ups and fitness profiling that tell them where they stand on the fitness scale, what they risk by not exercising, and what is the correct exercise plan and yearly fitness goal for each individual. Rewarding the fittest people in each age group is one way to encourage people to exercise. Ultimately, the management needs to get the ball rolling and the fitness culture will gather a momentum of its own.
RAJIV M.
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