Physical activity at work can improve the health of your business by having a positive impact on many issues affecting productivity and economic success.  For example:

Increasing productivity

• Studies show that individual work performance can be improved by between 4% and 15% when people are engaged in regular physical activity (Health Canada, 2004).

• Active employees report feeling less tired, more relaxed, more self confident and more productive. (Shephard, 1997)

Absenteeism and ability to return to work after illness

• Research in Scotland shows that active employees take 27% less days sick leave than inactive employees.

• Organisations in Canada have reported that workplace physical activity programmes reduce absenteeism by up to 20%.  That is the equivalent of up to 1.6 days improvement in attendance per participant per year (Health Canada, 2004)

• Studies on the influence of moderate exercise training on immune function have shown that near daily brisk walking compared with inactivity reduced the number of sickness days by half over a 12 – 15 week period (Nieman and Pedersen, 1999).

Improving workability

• Maintaining physical work capacity over time is important because the UK has an ageing population and therefore an ageing workforce.

• By 2051, an estimated 1 in 4 people will be aged over 65.  Within the working-age population, between 2002 and 2025 the number of people aged 30 – 39 is projected to decline, while the number aged 50 – 59 is projected to increase (select Committee on Economic Affairs, 2003).

• As there is an ageing workforce it is important to promote employee health and well-being, in order to improve and maintain health and thus increase the likelihood of older people being able to carry on working.  This in turn reduces problems of recruitment and retention of staff.

Retaining Staff

• Studies show that following the introduction of an on-site fitness programme, staff turnover was reduced by between 8% and 13% (Physical Activity Task Force, 2003).

• Being physically active can reduce the likelihood of premature death before reaching the normal age of retirement (Shephard, 1989)