Opinion: should bosses pay staff to work out?

As office ‘cake culture’ is criticised, some experts are asking whether bosses should pay their staff to exercise.

We’re all eating too much office cake, apparently.

Now, a lot of people will argue that ‘too much’ and ‘cake’ shouldn’t appear in the same sentences, but the workplace trend of bringing in delicious home-made cakes and snacks for colleagues has recently been slammed by The Royal College of Surgeons.

Professor Nigel Hunt from the Faculty of Dental Surgery at the Royal College of Surgeons has suggested that staff should be sharing fruit, nuts and cheese rather than cake.

"Managers want to reward staff for their efforts, colleagues want to celebrate special occasions, and workers want to bring back a gift from their holidays,” he said.

"But for many people the workplace is now the primary site of their sugar intake and is contributing to the current obesity epidemic and poor oral health."

Recently, the BBC PM programme posed a debate about whether office workouts should replace cake culture.

Maybe, instead of bonding over a slice of Deborah’s Victoria sponge, they should be bonding over burpees in the car park?

And maybe paying their employees to work out during working hours would actually save bosses cash.

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Perks that work

It might sound a bit like a phase or fad to suggest that employers should pay their staff to work out.

Perhaps the kind of company that replaces chairs with yoga balls and provides at-desk massages might offer free fitness on the company clock, but not more normal UK workplaces.

Yet the evidence is compelling that exercise during the working day can have considerable payoffs for both the company and the individuals.

Researchers from Leeds University were quizzed about their work performance and mood on both days where they exercised at work and days where they didn’t. Most of the participants who exercised spent between 30 and 60 minutes at lunchtime each day doing yoga.

The outcomes recorded were substantial.

Six out of 10 workers claimed their time management, mental performance and ability to meet deadlines was better on the days when they exercised.

There was an overall performance increase of around 15% on the days when staff worked out.

“We were surprised,” said Jim McKenna, a professor of physical activity and health. “We weren’t expecting this amount of effect.”

That’s just one study but it’s supported by lots of other research. A study carried out by the University of Bristol showed that workers who exercised either before work or during lunch breaks were calmer, happier and much more productive.

Jo Coulson, research associate at the university’s Department of Exercise, Nutrition and Health Sciences, said: “On exercise days, people's mood significantly improved after exercising. 

"Mood stayed about the same on days they didn't, with the exception of people's sense of calm which deteriorated.

“Critically, workers performed significantly better on exercise days and across all three areas we measured, known as mental-interpersonal, output and time demands.”

She added: “The study also begs the question whether employers can afford not to be encouraging active breaks. 

"The suggestion is that employers who are ahead of the game in offering proper onsite facilities actually get less from their employees on days that they don't exercise.”

“But I don’t want to!”

Plenty of people will be reading this and worrying that there’s a risk employees will be forced to exercise at work – like a return to compulsory gym at school.

But don’t panic, your boss doesn’t need to make you do squats or run 5km with a rucksack – even a brisk walk can help. The positive benefits of exercise don’t require you to sweat buckets.

“We could find no difference according to length of exercise or duration or intensity,” McKenna says. “You still got the effect no matter what you did.”

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Working out and working harder?

Lawrence Jones MBE, CEO of award-winning managed hosting provider UKFast, recently began a workplace fitness push and he says the results have been dramatic.

He’s even commissioned a personal trainer company – the Fitness Training Academy – to help motivate and train his team, and he’s happy for employees to exercise during working hours rather than waiting for their lunchbreak.

“The UKFast team values and respects the freedom they have to get away from their desks and hit some weights or run a 5k in the gym when they need to recharge,” says Lawrence.

“It’s the best way to energise, clear your head and get focused. It’s a time to switch off from the stress, to get the endorphins flowing and, often, to feel human again in the midst of a stressful day. You should never underestimate the power of exercise on the human body and mind.”

But surely, if staff are working out then they are hardly working? But actually, Lawrence agrees with the research that suggests employee gym is productive.

He explains: “This is one of the questions I get asked most often – how do you keep track of when people are working and when they’re in the gym. It’s a fair question because you will find at least one person in the gym at every hour of the day.

“We don’t micro manage with a stop watch. We don’t need to. We monitor our overall levels of productivity and, if that causes us concern, the solution is often for someone to get to the gym more not less.”

In fact, he thinks the company saves money by encouraging staff to exercise and that employees enjoy the focus on fitness.

He says: “[Managers] recognise the benefits of incorporating sport into their working day, they, their teams and their families benefit from reduced sickness and having more energy. It’s a no brainer for the team and for the board of directors.”

Claire Gregory, one of the personal trainers UKFast is working with, says: “Exercise is proven to boost health and increase concentration. Offering employees the chance to stay fit while they’re at work helps them balance their personal needs with their working life.

“I’d love to see more employers offering their staff the chance to work out at work – it could be the encouragement we need to see a revolution in wellbeing in the UK.”

What do you think? Would your workplace be better if there was less cake and more kettlebell swinging? Would it save bosses money on sick pay and lost productivity? Have your say using the comments below.

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