Corporate fitness is a phrase used to
describe physical activity and exercise related programs that are implemented
by an employer. The goal of corporate
fitness programs is to increase the amount of physical activity that an
employee gets.
WHY CORPORATE FITNESS PROGRAMS?
You
may wonder why an employer would care about the amount of physical activity
that an employee gets? The reasons are
simple, logical and well supported by research.
Physically active employees are less likely to be overweight, have fewer
chronic health conditions, have lower levels of stress, miss fewer days of work
and are more productive than their sedentary co-workers. By helping employees become more physically
active a corporation can lower health care costs, decrease sick days and
increase productivity.
In
fact, research shows that the average wellness program ROI is about 3:1 over a
36-month period. Meaning that for every
$1 invested in wellness programs the average employer can expect to save about
a $3 on health care costs and about $3 on absenteeism. Not a bad return-on-investment.
Type of Corporate Fitness Programs
There
are many types of corporate fitness programs available. They vary greatly in complexity, price and
effectiveness. Examples of corporate
fitness programs include:
Walking programs
Onsite corporate fitness centers
Onsite exercise classes
Onsite personal training or group training
Reimbursing the cost of a gym membership or
subsidizing the cost of a gym membership
Arranging for discounted memberships
through local or national gyms
Fitness challenges and contests
Seminars and presentations about physical
activity
Stairwell initiatives – encouraging the use
of the stairs vs. taking the elevator
Online fitness tools and applications
Providing incentives for physical activity
Reimbursing the cost of certain fitness
items (exercise bands, stability balls, etc.)
Having flexible schedules that allow
employees more time to exercise before work or after work
Having “walking meetings vs. sitting in a
conference room.
Installing bike racks so that employees can
bike to work.
Successful Corporate Fitness Programs
Successful
corporate fitness programs generally involve some type of incentive that
rewards employees for being physically active.
The fact is that most people are not intrinsically motivated to be
physically active. Time constraints,
work, family obligations, etc all conspire to make it difficult for people to
find (or make) the time to exercise. To
change that requires some type of incentive.
The key is to find out what incentives motivate your employees to be
more active and then use that to leverage increased rates of participation and
physical activity.
Corporate Fitness Programs: Liability
Issues
Companies
need to be careful when implementing corporate fitness programs. We always recommend that organizations check
with their attorney and their liability insurance provider to make sure that
they are not putting the business at risk by implementing these types of
programs.
You’ll
probably need liability waivers and other documents to help protect the
business, but most of this is easily and inexpensively taken care of. If you’re working with a third-party company
to implement this type of program then they’ll likely have the forms available
for use and can guide you through this process.
Closing Thoughts
Don’t
let the potential liability issues stop you from investing in corporate fitness
programs. They can help you lower health
care costs, lower rates of absenteeism, decrease employee stress levels and
make employees more productive.
AVEHOLIDAY HOME
Veerapagupathy,
Chothavilai
Beach,
Thengamputhoor,
Kanyakumari.
Ph:
04652-221337, Mob: 8220099080.
Email:
aveholidayhome@gmail.com
Website:
www.aveholidayhome.com
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