CORPORATE FITNESS CENTER – GOOD IDEA OR A WASTE OF SPACE???

Why a corporate fitness center?

The "Healthy People 2010" national health promotion project was recently released and David Satcher, MD, PhD, cited getting people moving as the number one public health goal for the next ten years. And the workplace, he said, should play a stronger role in this effort. More employers should "provide supportive worksite environments that offer opportunities for employees to incorporate physical activity into their daily lives," he says.

Some facts:

• Reduced Health-Care Costs- Medical claim costs were 55 percent lower among corporate fitness program participants than non-participants over a six-year period—an average of $478.61 for participants, versus $869.98 for non-participants at Steelcase Corporation.
• Increased Productivity-
  • 80 percent of Union Pacific Railroad's employees believed their exercise program was helping them become more productive at work, and 75 percent thought regular exercise was helping them achieve higher levels of relaxation and concentration.
  • A recent study of 200 people at 3 major corporations revealed that an employee's quality of life, mental performance, and time management was 15% better on days when they exercised
• Reduced Absenteeism- Over a six year period, DuPont saw a 47.5 percent reduction in absenteeism among participants in its corporate fitness program.
• Reduced Turnover - The Canadian Life Assurance Company found turnover among its fitness program participants 34.4 percent lower over a seven-year period compared with non-participants during that same time.

"People spend more time at work than they do anywhere else," says Yvonne Ingram-Rankin, president of the Association for Worksite Health Promotion (AWHP).    It makes sense to give people a convenient place to exercise.   According to one employee at a mid-size company, “Having the fitness center right there in the building improves my commute time. I don't have to sit in traffic to get to a gym.  Instead, I spend time at the fitness center (even if it’s only 20 minutes) and then zip home to my family. When I get home, I don't need to set aside time to relax because I just did, by working out,”

IT’S NOT GOING TO WORK FOR EVERYONE – BUT IT WILL SEND A MESSAGE THAT HEALTH IS IMPORTANT

A fitness center will get some people active and moving.  Based on industry experience, you could expect 15% of the workforce to use the facility on a regular basis.  And it tells employees that you value health. That’s worth something, right?

BUT YOU CAN GET MORE PEOPLE PARTICIPATING TO GET HEALTHIER.

If you actively promote the center to your employees, set up incentives and even create “break time” to exercise and communicate that being healthy is part of the job and get people to start to take some responsibility for their health, you can get a lot more people active – that’s good for business. Proactive Partners has very large corporate clients where 50% or more of the employees use the corporate health club regularly (see www.beproactive.com).  It’s a function of the corporate culture, active promotion of the facility, great service and great programming.

THE FITNESS CENTER CAN CREATE SOLUTIONS  -

Like a stress management workshop or a posture tutorial or a stretch class or a healthy back class – yes, bad backs are costing you money!!

The National Safety Council stated that in 1996, backaches alone cost industry more than $1.2 billion in production and services and $275 million in worker's compensation. Source: The American Council on Exercise, ACE Fitness Matters, January/February 2006 

IF YOU HAVE A FITNESS CENTER AND DON’T HAVE GOOD EMPLOYEE PARTICIPATION

Contact Proactive Partners to talk about how to get things moving.  Go to www.beproactive.com.  . 

If you want high performance employees, you need healthy employees

A fitness center can help them get moving toward health. See beproactive.com or corporateathlete.com to learn more about exercise.

Comments

[brallen]

I want to get my company healthier. Can I realistically get people moving?