5 Benefits of Workplace Fitness Culture CareerMetis.com

5 Benefits of Workplace Fitness Culture Original Image Source â€" Depositphotos.comNowadays, jobs have become very demanding. To give the best at the job one needs to give 100%. Hard work, dedication, focus, time management, etc. have become essential. Besides these qualities, another thing that is required to excel in the workplace is a healthy body and mind. Yes, you read it correctly. Stress, long working hours, and pressure of deadlines have become part of the job. Also, people spend most of their time in the workplace.evalAs a result, they hardly get time to exercise. Exercise not only helps in keeping us physically fit but also helps in keeping us mentally fit. So, how to deal with this problem? Well, a very simple solution is to have a gym at the workplace itself.Also, if an employee is physically and mentally exhausted, he won’t be able to focus on the job-in-hand. This would hamper the overall productivity of the company. So, if as an employer, you are looking for an answer to improve your employees’ health, k eep them motivated, reduce stress, and create a healthy atmosphere. Then, consider having a gym and workplace wellness programs for yourself as well as your employees.Workplace wellness programs help in creating a fitness culture in the workplace. These programs aim at improving the overall health of the employees by educating them about the importance of a healthier lifestyle and encouraging them to live a healthy life.Having a workplace fitness culture is beneficial for both employers, as well as employees.The 5 Benefits of Workplace Fitness Culture:1) Fitness Creates Less StressNowadays, many employees spend most of their office time by sitting on their office chair and doing work on their desktops or laptops. Continuous sitting for long hours might result in neck, spine, and back-related issues in long terms. Lower back painhas become very common among employees doing desk jobs. In addition to this, approaching deadlines, the pressure of performance, bossy management, etc. furth er result in tension and stress.As we all know, stress and tension have a bad effect on our mental as well as physical health. Continuous stress not only hampers the employee’s overall work and performance at the office, but it also results in diseases like hypertension, heart-related diseases, etc. Studies have shown that exercise not only acts as a stress buster and also helps in improving mental health. Regular exercise reduces the level of stress hormone and increases the endorphins in the body. Increased level of endorphin helps in relaxing our mind. This not only helps the employees to fight stress but also improves sleep quality.2) Fitness EncouragesBetter Work PerformanceevalStudies have shown that organizations that have adopted workplace fitness culture have higher retention rates as compared to companies with no such facilities. Employees consider gym, wellness programs, etc. as a perk. This not only gives them a reason to stay with the company but also keep them motiva ted.Studies have also shown that regular exercise not only improves our physical health, but it also increases mental abilities.This includes:Improving Learning abilities.Enhancing Memory.Enhancing creativity.Improving concentration.Enhanced mental abilities help in improving employee’s performance, which further results in enhancing the overall performance of the company.evalSome studies suggest that the workers who visit the gym during their working hours show better performance and feel less stressed as compared to those who don’t exercise.This gives employers another good reason to start a health wellness program in their workplace. This would make exercise a part of their employees’ workplace routine and create a healthy and positive workplace environment.3) Fitness Fosters TeamworkMost of the organizations have different departments to carry out different workplace functions. The entire workplace is divided into numerous teams. For the proper functioning of any departmen t, teamwork is very crucial. Teamwork results from understanding, bonding, and trust among the team members. Companies spend a lot of money to conduct sessions for enhancing teamwork spirit among their employees.The gym at the workplace and having a workplace fitness program enhances the spirit of teamwork among the employees. A gym act is an informal platform where employees can talk to each other and get to know each other in a better way. This further enhances their bonding and improves their relationship.As we all know, peer group support means a lot when it comes to any kind of fitness program. People who exercise together motivate and support each other in achieving their individual fitness goals. For example, if the aim of the fitness program is weight loss. The employees in the group would motivate their fellow team members to achieve their fitness goals.Also, employees would even get self-motivated by looking at the performance of their fellow team members. Such activities would polish qualities like teamwork and empathy towards each other among the employees. Employees tend to imbibe the feelings of togetherness and cooperation in their workplace also. This would further enhance the overall productivityof the team, which would create an atmosphere of work satisfaction and gives a reason for employees to be happy at their workplace.Photo Credit â€" Pexels.com4) Fitness Reduces Healthcare CostsThe ultimate aim of every organization is to increase its profits. This can be achieved by not only increasing sales but also by reducing the company’s expenses. Creating a workplace with a fitness culture would help the company in reducing its healthcare costs. If you are thinking about how? Here’s is your answer.Most of the companies provide various kinds of health benefits like healthcare insurance, reimbursement of medical bills, etc. to their employees. Studies have shown that people who exercise regularly are more physically and mentally fit. Regular ex ercise and a healthy lifestyle help in preventing various diseases.Healthier the employees, lesser would be medical bills. Also, healthy employees mean lesser absenteeism. We all know how difficult it can be to look for a last-minute replacement in case of absenteeism. Also, replacement may or may not give the same results. Absenteeism affects the company’s productivity. This is another reason why, as an employer, you should focus on improving your employees’ fitness.5) Improves Social ConnectionsevalIn organizations where different work at different floors or have their own offices, employees of one department hardly get time or opportunity to meet the employees of another department. This might result in a lack of understanding among the employees of different departments. This lack of interaction and understanding sometimes creates hurdles in achieving the company’s goal in time. As all the departments are interconnected, and they all work towards achieving the same goal, i ncreasing the company’s revenue.If a company want its different department to share a good relationship and understanding, they should try to provide them a platform where employees of the various departments can meet each other informally. The employees tend to connect better with each other in an informal environment. What could be better than have a workplace gym?Another major benefit of workplace fitness culture is it helps in improving social bonding among the employees. At the gym, employees connect with employees from other departments. This way they get to know each other and bond socially. They can talk and discuss anything â€" their likings, disliking, current affairs, families, etc. These informal interactions increase the feeling of being connected among the employees, and it improves the relationship among different departments. This would improve the bonding among various departments, and these improved relationships would enhance the overall productivity of the comp any.ConclusionHaving a gym at the workplace would be beneficial for both employers as well as employees. A workplace with a healthy body and mind would tend to be more productive. If you don’t have a gym at the workplace, ask your employees if they are interested in getting one. If the response is positive, build a gym as per your budget. Workplace gym need not have to be a5 star gym. You can start with some basic fitness training instruments like a treadmill, weight training equipment, etc. Once employees start using the gym facility, you can keep on adding more equipment.Just opening a gym at the workplace might not be sufficient. You might have to motivate your employees to use the gym facilities. You can do this by setting up an example, so be the first one to use the workplace gym. Employees look up to their employers. Hence, when they see you going to the gym, they would get motivated and would try to follow your footsteps.evalAnother way to motivate the workforce to use gym facilities is by hiring a professional and conducting exercise or health benefit sessions for your employees. These sessions would make people aware of the importance of regular physical activities and adopting a healthy lifestyle. Once employees would start seeing improvement in their health and energy levels, they would appreciate your efforts. This would increase the feeling of respect towards you, and they would start treating the company as their own.So, if you already have a gym at the workplace, motivate your people to start using it. But if you don’t have a workplace gym, no worries, it’s still not late â€" plan about opening one and give your employees a reason to be more loyal to the company.