In the Media
2005-04-25, The Edmonton Journal
Fitness at Work a Winning Strategy
Chris Zdeb; Journal Staff Writer, Edmonton
Healthy workers prove their value to more and more businesses.
Most jobs give stress. The better ones give stress but they also help take it away.
Chris Beaton’s job at the Ford Credit call centre, for example, requires him to deal with difficult people in arrears with their payments, very stressful. When he needs a break, he can burn off that stress in a well-equipped, on-site workout centre complete with a personal trainer who runs a variety of fitness classes including cardio fit, stretch, walk fit, and yoga on a ball. (He also has access to a massage therapist and nutritionist.) More than half the staff take advantage of the facilities and programs.
“It’s a big escapism,” Beaton says, sitting at one of the machines during a recent lunch break. “You come in, relax and get away from work for awhile. When you come back in the afternoon, you’ve burned off a bit of tension, you’re not as pent up as you were when you first came down.”
The energy boost he gets carries on into his personal life at the end of the day.
The cost is less than half that of a regular health club membership and is deducted from employee pay cheques so you don’t even notice, Beaton says.
Having the workout centre makes him feels valued as a person and an employee and he rates Ford Credit one of the best companies he’s ever worked with in terms of taking care of its workers.
It’s a win-win situation. Research shows that companies with a workplace wellness or corporate fitness mentality have employees who are healthier, more productive, take fewer sick days and stay with the company longer. Basically, every loonie a company spends on the fitness of its employees, yields a toonie in return.
Classes build morale and communication.
There is a greater awareness of the importance of wellness in the community and employers are picking up on that, especially in large corporations, says Judith Moodie, director of the Alberta Centre for Active Living, a non-profit research and education centre. With many parents both working, there’s not a lot of time after work for them to be physically active. If physical fitness can be built into the workday before it starts, at noon, or at the end, “there’s a greater likelihood that they will actually be active,” Moodie Says.
Unfortunately, many people still work for employers who aren’t sympathetic to this. Other employers can’t afford to offer an on-site workout centre, but that’s not as important as providing an environment that supports physical activity, Moody says.
“I think the movement now is to create an environment that is supportive of people being physically active for health. Perhaps they allow employees to arrive later after they’ve worked out or to take an extended lunch hour so they can walk or jog over the noon hour. In some cases, employers may actually provide an opportunity for employees to be physically active by assisting with memberships to the YMCA, city recreational fitness centers,” Moodie explains. “Sometimes it’s as simple as putting in bicycle racks or providing a secure place for employees to keep their bicycle while they’re working so they can ride to and from work.”
CKUA Radio survives on donations so there’s no money to provide employees with health club memberships, says chief financial officer Terry Kostek. But the company splits the costs with employees of bringing in a fitness trainer to lead a yoga class in a multipurpose room in the building once a week. It’s on-site-fitness on a shoestring budget, she grins, but employees are happy.
The station is currently involved in a fundraising campaign, which steps up the workload, says employee Ellie May. “It can be stressful, but a good stress. You spend most of the day sitting in a chair on the phone or at a computer so it’s nice to come down and stretch and just do something healthy.”
If it wasn’t for the yoga class offered at work, May says she wouldn’t be getting any exercise because it’s hard to fit regular exercise is almost impossible. Having it at work is absolutely fantastic.”
Yoga class leaves her feeling more energized and gives her a sense of accomplishment. You have done something good for yourself, she says.
Kostek, who also takes the class says helping employees with physical fitness reduces the risks of repetitive stress injuries resulting from work.
“It’s more prevention, but what the class also does is build relationships amongst people who might otherwise just be sitting at their computer working day in and day out before they get up and go home. It’s an opportunity to be together and to chat. If you know the people you’re working with a little better, I think it’s easier to work with them,” Kostek says.
Beaton agrees. “I find the gym to be quite a social place because Annie (Desrochers) and Marie Josee (Fortier),” he says referring to coworkers running on the treadmills behind him, “work in the same department as me but further down the building and we really don’t get to speak much. But I see them in the gym all the time. It’s where we get to catch up.”
The Alberta Centre for Active Living recently developed a free on-line resource to help employers assess their workplace and provide ideas on creating a supportive environment for employees, Moodie says.
The City of Edmonton recreation department, YMCAs and for-profit organizations can help employers set up programs so there are lots of options, Moodie says.
Worker Wellness: The Facts
- 60 per cent of adult Canadians do not exercise regularly
- The average employee loses 115 productive work hours annually due to health problems. Someone who comes to work depressed or tired may not be able to work as productively as normal. So even through the boss sees them sitting at their desks, they might as well have stayed home, says Nikki Davis, corporate fitness director with Defining Eve, a personal training service.
- The attrition rate of employees who participate in employer supported fitness programs is 34.4 per cent lower over a seven-year period than for employees who don’t have access to such programs because they feel more valued and cared about
- There is a 47.5 per cent reduction in absenteeism among corporate fitness participants
