Productivity

From deskercise to company triathlons – is your organisation winning the race?

Reading time:  4 Minutes

The office of the future will keep us on our toes, according to Greg Whyte OBE. An Olympic athlete, sports scientist and consultant to FTSE 500 businesses, Whyte spends his time persuading executives that activity equals productivity equals profit.

“Businesses are beginning to understand that an active workforce is more productive,” says Whyte. Not only is there less absenteeism, but there’s more ‘presenteeism’, where employees are significantly more engaged and focused.

Through his Harley Street consultancy, the Centre for Health and Human Performance, Whyte advises companies on ways to adapt their offices.

For example, working at a stand-up desk burns 1.7 more calories per minute than sitting down and promotes better posture through a strengthened core. Stairwells should be bright, well-maintained and signposted, as an attractive alternative to the lift. Vending machines should stock healthy foods and drinks. Even the position of litter bins can make a difference, obliging people to walk across the office.

The key is activity. “You don’t have to be running around in spandex,” Whyte says. “Moving more, and moving more often, is the goal. We encourage people to have walking or standing meetings. One of the advantages is that they tend to be shorter,” he adds (the meetings, not the people).

Sport equals team spirit

Diccon Loy is a sports events organiser and health promotion expert who takes fitness at work to the next level. “We sometimes have meetings while we’re running, or we go for a bike ride,” he says.

Loy has organised mass sports and activity events including Home Run during the 2012 Olympics, where thousands of people started running home from work. Another event pitched teams of workmates against one another in a cycling race in central London.

“When everyone’s badged up with their branded helmets and corporate gear – even their socks – it becomes so much more than just exercise,” says Loy. “It breaks down barriers in an organisation.”

He believes that the best office activities are orchestrated by employees, rather than formalised and imposed by management. But business owners can help by installing showers, changing rooms and lockers, along with a secure bike space.

Loy’s latest business is Marathon Swims, where individuals and teams (such as workmates) race in distances up to 10km. “Where you have that team element, that’s the key to cohesiveness and sociability,” says Loy.

Loy once attended a company conference in Cornwall. “A group of 12 of us decided to cycle down there instead of going by train. It took us three days and it was one of the best work activities I’ve done. We really bonded, because you’re all going through these challenges together. You end up with so many stories to tell.” These shared experiences are a tremendous morale booster in a workplace. Posts on social media also amplify the impact of such events and act as an effective marketing tool.

Swedes are at the front of the pack

In Sweden, ‘Friskvård’ literally means ‘wellness’. It also means a workplace allowance for sports and healthy activities of around 7,000 Swedish kronor – £660 – per year, to be spent on gym membership, sports clubs, dance classes, yoga or various kinds of massage. An advanced version offers an extra week’s holiday to employees who exercise for at least three hours a week.

The initiatives are part of a movement, gaining currency throughout the business world, that believes that health and fitness at work bring multiple rewards.

A study from Bristol University found that increased exercise resulted in reduced stress, improved workplace relations, greater concentration and higher productivity. Of the 200 employees surveyed, 72 per cent reported improvements in time management on days when they exercised, compared with non-exercise days, while 79 per cent said their “mental and interpersonal” performance improved.

For job candidates, access to sports and fitness facilities in the workplace is rising in importance. They’re ever more aware of the benefits of exercise, the negative health effects of a sedentary lifestyle and the pleasure of workplace team events (most of them, anyway).

Potential employees look at pictures of the latest Google or Facebook offices with their standing desks, ping-pong tables and gyms and figure they’d like something similar. “For recruitment, the policies and stories about what a company has done are important,” says Diccon Loy. 

With a network of 3,000 locations – many with gym and fitness facilities – Regus could be the partner to help you revamp your office and culture. Contact us for more information about how you can make your space work for your staff.