GREAT EXERCISE TO LIFT OUTPUT
EXERCISING at work would become mandatory if policies now being implemented by some companies in Sweden take off throughout the rest of the world.
Not only would it tackle the rising health risks posed by sedentary work and the nation’s obesity problem, but research shows it would make workers more productive.
In Sweden, fashion retailer Bjorn Borg and city water company Kalmar Vatten are among the organisations to implement the mandatory exercise policy to boost productivity and foster workplace morale.
At least once a week, workers must head to the gym for a workout. If they do not, they risk disciplinary measures from having their pay reduced to being fired.
Researchers at the University of Queensland are among those at several institutions worldwide to find exercise increases productivity and reduces absenteeism.
School of Human Movement and Nutrition Sciences researcher Associate Professor Nicholas Gilson has investigated the effects of moving at work, through sitstand or treadmill desks, on worker productivity.
“We found people who use activity-promoting desks were more able to focus on urgent tasks, avoid non-urgent tasks and manage stress better than people sitting at a desk all day,” he says.
“The workers who used sitstand or walking desks allocated attention most effectively and had lower levels of cortisol – known as the ‘stress hormone’ – in their saliva.”
In 2005, Leeds Metropolitan University in the UK found improved productivity in people who exercised during their lunchbreak. Six out of 10 workers reported their time management skills, mental performance and ability to meet deadlines improved on days when they exercised.
The Australian Bureau of Statistics reports 63 per cent of Australians are overweight or obese, in part because they are not exercising enough, while 45 per cent of people do not get sufficient exercise at all.
Massage sessions may have a 100 per cent participation rate at business consultancy dmca advisory, but mandated exercise is not on its agenda.
However, working out at work is part of its wellbeing program to help workers stay energised mentally as well as physically, with the side effect of being more productive and engaged at work.
Dmca general manager Allishia Manariotis says it is investigating holding regular fitness classes for staff after an optional team-bonding session at Orangetheory Fitness earlier this year.
“I think people are more engaged, to know they are a part of an organisation that does put them as a central part of the business strategy,” she says.