The Value of Exercise
Regular exercise offers so many great immediate and long-term health benefits for all of us, employees and employers alike. Engaging in exercise causes the body to release a feel-good chemical called endorphins. This chemical reaction is what helps alleviate feelings of stress and anxiety. Regular exercise is also attributed to improved cognitive performance and critical thinking, reduced blood pressure, and improved sleep quality. Long-term benefits of exercise include the reduced risk of cardiovascular illness, development of certain cancers, and mental illness. Regular exercise can also help with weight management as well as strengthen bones to improve balance and coordination.
From an organizational stand point, having physically active employees leads to many additional benefits. According to Corporate Wellness Magazine, creating a culture of fitness can help lower overall healthcare costs, reduces absenteeism, help employees manage stress and can prevent burnout, improves performance and fosters teamwork.
How to Create a Culture of Fitness
Regardless of whether your employees are working remotely or are back in the office, there are many different ways you can create a culture of fitness within your workplace. It all comes down to encouragement, support and making regular exercise an attainable goal. Listed below are tips that will help you get started on creating a culture of fitness:
- Add Fitness Centered Perks to Your Wellness Program: There are fitness perks that fit any company size or budget, especially if you get creative! Some ideas include covering employee gym memberships, providing free access to virtual workout apps such as Peloton, or offering fitness webinars and workshops. For example, Health Designs offers both on-site and virtual webinars and workshops. Two of our most popular fitness topics include “The Power of Fitness” and “Exercise to Energize.” To learn more about our offerings, email us or visit our website!
- Provide Flexible Schedules: Whether it is a longer lunch break, ending the day a little early or giving employees extra time in the morning, flexible schedules help employees schedule in time to exercise.
- Incorporate Fitness in the Office: For those that have returned to work, incorporating fitness into the workday is one of the best ways to create a culture of fitness. Have walking meetings, put signs by elevators encouraging employees to take the stairs, offering on-site yoga or workout classes, and encouraging movement throughout the day are all excellent examples. For both those at the office and at home, provide access to fitness related resources and content such as our newsletter, HD Heartbeat.
- Create Fitness Challenges: Wellness challenges can be offered virtually, so they are a great option for remote employees. It could be a steps challenge, running a 5k together virtually, 30 day virtual workout class challenge, etc. Health Designs also offers a variety of virtual challenges, email us or visit our website to learn more!
- Lead By Example: We say this a lot, but when creating a workplace culture you have to lead by example. When you as a leader make your own fitness a priority, you are encouraging others to do the same!
Some of this blog’s content is from the May edition of HD Heartbeat. To learn more about creating a culture of fitness and signing up for HD Heartbeat, contact us!
