| Fitness in the Work Place |
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Physicians and health care professionals have recommended increased physical activity as a means of improving the health of sedentary workers for the past 300 years.
As continued progress in industrial mechanization during the later half of the twentieth century continues, health problems at the work site have increased dramatically. This has been proven as a direct result of a lack, rather than an excess, of physical activity. With the decline in physical activity, there has been a dramatic increase to exploit the very limits of human mental performance, with a resultant increase in stress levels. A strong foundation of healthy productive employees holds the integrity of your company together. An initial investment in your companies’ health through wellness programs, fitness facility management and health promotions is the sweat equity for the future success of your company. The benefits of this "total wellness" concept are two-fold. To you, the employer productivity and profits are the primary concern. To the employee, the benefits of implementing a wellness health promotions program in the workplace have been indirectly related to decreases in absenteeism, health care & compensation costs, and burnout associated with illness, stress and self-efficacy. What is the Motivation for the Employee? How might an exercise program improve the health and job satisfaction of a worker? A deliberate exercise program that is designed more towards the needs of employees can help counter boredom and job dissatisfaction especially if the worker is mentally under-stressed. People notice better sleep patterns, and that they cope more effectively with stress while maintaining a higher level of stamina and energy as a direct result of exercises. Fit individuals tend to be high achievers and are therefore recruits for executive positions. One can easily imagine a fitness program reducing stress or improving perceived health to the point at which an employee can cope. The individual with a positive attitude might view the offer as an expression of management concern for personal well-being, as a token of stable employment, or as a valuable fringe benefit. Benefits can include improvement of the company image and the facilitation of recruitment, gains in productivity, a better quality of work, less absenteeism, reduced health care costs and fewer on the job injuries. More productive: Fit employees are more productive, more creative and more competitive. "Physical fitness is an essential part of the best-run companies." - T Pickens, Chairman, Mesa Petroleum, 1992. Studies have shown that people who are motivated properly assume more responsibility for their own health when they are engaged in an exercise program. A report that appeared in the New England Journal of Medicine in 1987 reported that a vigorous bout of exercise in the middle of the day improved mental alertness and productivity for 4 to 5 hours afterwards. Reduced Absenteeism: The Canadian Life Assurance Company found that turnover among fitness program participants was 32.4% lower over a seven year period compared with non-participants. - Canadian Journal of Health, Peter Leatt, et al, January/February 1988. Furthermore, a recent survey in the USA showed that workers who took some form of exercise missed 40% fewer workdays than those who took no exercise at all. Our research time and time again confirms the benefits of healthier, fitter employees. They have fewer and lower long-term medical claims, they are absent less, their disability costs are lower, and their perceived personal productivity and job/life satisfaction levels are higher." - Peter Soderberg, President Johnson & Johnson HMI. Other studies have found similar decreases in absenteeism either in the company as a whole or in program participants after the introduction of sports and fitness programs. Absenteeism alone can cause a loss in production of about 6 days per worker per year in nonunion operations and 10 to 14 days per worker per year in union operations. As company policy becomes more fitness oriented there may be further selective recruitment of employees and a positive self-image. Corporate Fitness and wellness concepts have become a management tool for many industries, including Johnson & Johnson, Xerox, and General Motors are a few examples of companies that incorporate fitness in the workplace. Johnson & Johnson reported that employees had taken 13% fewer sick days the first year of their involvement in an organized exercise program and fewer sick days by the second year. At least 100 million workdays are lost each year due to lower back pain at a cost to employers of $20 billion and workers' compensation claims for back problems total $8.75 billion a year. The numbers are striking. American Industry loses $32 billion dollars and 132 million work days lost every year because of employee's premature deaths that are associated with cardio-vascular disease (high blood pressure, heart stroke, diabetes, and obesity). Billions more are lost as a result of lowered productivity as a result of sickness and disability. In a year long study of 884 employees who took part in a workplace fitness program, those who exercised as infrequently as once a week as part of the program cut their average number of sick days in half—from more than 10 days in the previous year to less than 5 sick days, re-searchers reported in the “Journal of Occupational and Environmental Medicine (1997;39:827-831). Improve Decision Making: "Executives who work out regularly are actually better decision makers. Dr Gavriel Salvendy (of Purdue University) tested decision-making capabilities of 80 people over a nine month period. At the end of the test period, the fitness level of the exercisers had risen 22%, while the ability to make complex decisions had increased 70% over that of the non exercisers." - Robert J Brosmer, Deborah L Walton, Health and High Performance, 1991. Boost Morale: In a study by Saatch % Saatchi Advertising 63% of employees enrolled in it’s fitness program cited improved productivity and 75% said it boosted morale. - Good Health Good Business, Johnson & Johnson 2nd Quarter, 1990 Better Return on Investment: Motorola returned $3.15 per dollar from it’s employee fitness program. PepsiCo found it’s corporate fitness program had a 300% return on investment: $3 for every $1 invested. - The Economic impact of Employee Health and Fitness, Fitness Systems 1990 Du Pont: Over a six year period, Du Pont had a return of $2.05 for every $1 invested in it’s employee fitness program. - Health Behaviours, D.W. Edington, PhD., March 1992 Prudential Life Insurance found, in a five year study, it returned $1.91 per dollar invested in it’s employee fitness program. - The Cost/Effectiveness of Corporate Wellness Programs, American Institute of Preventative Medicine, 1991 Physicians and health care professionals have recommended increased physical activity as a means of improving the health of sedentary workers for the past 300 years. As continued progress in industrial mechanization during the later half of the twentieth century continues, health problems at the work site have increased dramatically. This has been proven as a direct result of a lack, rather than an excess, of physical activity. With the decline in physical activity, there has been a dramatic increase to exploit the very limits of human mental performance, with a resultant increase in stress levels. People notice better sleep patterns, and that they cope more effectively with stress while maintaining a higher level of stamina and energy as a direct result of exercises. |
