Fit for work

Here at Pursuit Software we are all about finding solutions to your technology requirements so that you and your staff can offer the very best service to your customers.

But just sometimes we like to take a wider look at the workplace and give our spin on how a company can improve.

In this article we focus on one of your most important assists, your staff.

When we think about our staff and our workplace environment, fitness is not necessarily the first thing on the agenda. We think about staff retention, staff performance, staff incentives, but what about the very important question of staff health and fitness?

The vast majority of the workforce in the UK now spend a large proportion of their working day sitting at desks and looking at screens. In terms of posture, this is not a great way to spend long hours of time and in terms of movement, it falls far short of the recommended 10,000 steps a day.

Encouraging a new way of thinking and working can be really beneficial for staff, and for employers. Fit employees are less likely to get sick, if there is a bug going around the office, fit employees are less likely to contract it and will probably shake it off quicker than their less fit counterparts.

Encouraging your staff to exercise regularly could lead to a fall in both short and long-term absenteeism. and in terms of attitude and mental health, the endorphins released during exercise also give employees more self-confidence and energy, which in turn leads to a positive attitude in life and, pertinently to your business, at work too.

So how do you get your workforce more active and hence, more fit?

Big corporations such as Google and Apple have built-in gyms for their employees but we are very aware that these are not normal small-to-medium sized companies with limited budgets and limited space.

There are other, low cost and low maintenance ways to get your employees fitter.

1. Introduce walking meetings, where staff discuss ideas as they go for a walk. Not only is this encouraging staff to move but the more informal atmosphere can be a great environment for staff to debate and arrive at innovative ideas.
2. Encourage regular lunchtime runs or walks.
3. Join a corporate gym scheme. Local gyms will often offer a reduced price for businesses, particularly if staff use their facilities at less popular times. Alternatively, you could book a personal trainer to come to your work place and put your staff through their paces with a weekly session.
4. Create a staff sports team and enter into a local businesses league. Football, netball, basketball, volleyball – any team sport will be an instant hit among staff. There is the buzz of competition, the energy created by doing exercise and the social factor of seeing work colleagues in a different environment. You will be facilitating team work without anyone realising it.
5. Have a fun sports day. Go on, book an afternoon in the summer where the entire staff goes to the local park and plays sport. The lost hours in the workplace will be more than compensated for by the sense of camaraderie and worth that you will have created.
6. Encourage staff to commit to a charity sports event – such as the Three Peaks Challenge or the Norwich 100/50/25 mile bike ride.

By showing employees that you care about their fitness levels is a great way to boost morale. It demonstrates to your employees and colleagues that their health and wellbeing is important to the company they work for – the positive benefits of which can hardly be understated.