Why be Active at work? - Active Workplaces - LIVING SPORT

Why be Active at work?

Employers:

It’s estimated that individuals may spend up to 60% of their waking hours at work. For many people, this will involve lengthy periods of low physical activity such as sitting at a desk or standing at a machine.

 

What ways do poor health affect your workforce?

• Low activity levels amongst staff can lead to serious and chronic health problems

• Poor health due to low activity also leads to higher stress levels and low morale at work

 

How does sickness/absence affect your business?

• Active staff take an average of 27% fewer sick days.

• Physical inactivity is a major factor that contributes to Heart Disease and type 2 diabetes; which can lead to greater absences and long term sickness.

 

What impact do the above have on your business?

• Physical inactivity costs businesses on average £600 / employee / year (CIPD 2010 absence management survey)

• Your business can save money on health insurance premiums by encouraging a fitter workforce.

• Your business may be losing money due to unfit and de-motivated workforce, can you afford not to help them improve at work?

• Absence, low productivity and motivation all cost business through a drop in output, cost of temporary cover and disruption to the business.

 

Information you should know:

• A healthier and fitter lifestyle has been shown to make people happier and more motivated, which has been shown to improve performance at work.

• Walking or cycling to work can not only make people fitter, but can also reduce carbon emissions,  save them money in travelling and can also help businesses achieve green targets.

• Nine out of ten employers identified absence as a significant or very significant cost to the workplace in the Chartered Institute of Professional Development (CIPD) absence management survey, 2007.

• The average level of absence per business is eight days per employee per year.

Small reductions in absence can generate significant savings for employers.  For example, an organisation with 500 employees with average earnings of £250 a week and an absence level of 10 days per employee per year, can make a saving of £50,000 a year if it reduces absence to 8 days a year. It is not just the direct wage cost savings that employers who support employee wellbeing and manage absence effectively benefit from. CIPD research shows that well managed organisations that foster employee engagement benefit from:

•lower levels of absence

•lower levels of stress and higher levels of commitment and motivation.

(Source: Chartered Institute of Professional Development).

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