Workplace Health
Did you know that an average person spends more than half their waking hours at work! And many jobs involve being inactive for long periods of time. Employers are in a unique position of being able to educate, motivate and support their employees in being able to understand and actively maintain their health and wellbeing.
Why bother with physical activity at work?
It isn’t always easy to fit physical activity into our busy lives. Many of us spend long hours at work and may have a long and tiring commute.
Add in family, domestic duties and other commitments, and we’re struggling to keep awake, never mind be active!
On the other hand, we already spend half the day at work - so why not create opportunities to be more active during this time?
It’s easier than you may think - it isn’t necessary to spend the lunch hour at the gym. Many jobs involve long periods of physical inactivity, such as sitting down in front of a computer.
So you can add active minutes to your day by just making simple changes to your routine. For instance:
- get up and do something during lunch or break times
- take the stairs instead of the lift
- travel ‘actively’ to and from work – for example, by walking part of the way.
All this can all help towards achieving 30 minutes of daily physical activity.
The workplace is also an ideal setting for busy people to try out new activities without additional travel
Useful documents: Healthy Work: Evidence into Action and Healthy people=Healthy profits
If you are interested in looking at and improving the health of your workplace or have any ideas or suggestions, please contact Rachel Davies. E: rachel.davies@harrogate.gov.uk T: 01423 556782