How Workplace Workouts Can Pump Up Productivity

Is your staff feeling sluggish? Has there been a rash of sick days lately? Is your team complaining of low energy, stress, or just not feeling excited and engaged about work?

Maybe it's time to whip them into shape.

Many employers are paying new heed to the idea of a workplace that incorporates exercise. The current national focus on health care has spotlighted the issue of how illness impacts productivity -- and there's a big effect. A 2005 study by the Commonwealth Fund found that labor time lost due to health reasons represented $260 billion in lost economic output per year.

According to Greg Justice at FitCommerce.com, the average employee misses 8.4 days annually, while employees with a serious or chronic condition (diabetes, lung disease, heart disease, cancer, etc.) miss 72 days annually, and work at diminished capacity when present.

Many illnesses can be linked to lifestyle, which is where corporate wellness programs can help. If you can help a portly employee shed a few pounds, their cardiovascular health benefits. Providing sweat-equity opportunities can help tightly wound workers manage stress better.

And exercise has been shown to have a powerful effect against depression -- which, according to the American Psychiatric Association, is the most costly illness for employers, tallying more than three times the amount associated with lost productivity from all other illness.

So how can you give your employees more exercise opportunities on the job? Ideas abound. Some are more expensive than others, but compared to the cost of lost productivity, they're negligible. And plenty of them are free, so no excuses!

Some suggestions:

• Install walk stations -- a combination treadmill and desktop -- to let employees work and work out at the same time.
• Offer on-site exercise classes (hire a local trainer or yoga instructor for daily or weekly classes)
• Equip an empty office or conference room with mats, free weights, and resistance bands
• Arrange lunch-hour outings, such as a walk on a nearby trail or a game of Ultimate Frisbee in the park
• Start a walking club
• Create a bike-to-work day or week
• Provide free or discounted membership at a nearby gym
• Start a soccer, tennis, or flag football team (softball is fun, but it's not much of a workout)
• Offer incentives for employee weight loss or pedometer steps logged