WeAreTheCity May 2016
Are you getting enough exercise?
Finding the time to exercise and get active during your working week is so important. Especially if you spend much of your day sat at a desk.
We wrote a blog post for WeAreTheCity to mark Workplace Health Week stressing the importance of taking the time to fit physical activity into your working day.
Read the full article
We’re passionate about getting London office workers active and we’re working with London Sport supporting Workplace Health Week (23-27 May) offering you the chance to win a fitness class at your London office.
Staff at London Sport getting active with a lunch break Pilates class
The Prize
One of our fantastic instructors will come along to your workplace to teach one of our classes. All you need is a free meeting room or space in your office and some willing colleagues!
How to enter
There are five classes up for grabs… simply enter your details below to be in with a chance to win one!
You can double your chances of winning by Following us on Twitter and Tweeting
@EITCLondon I’m aiming to reach my 150 mins exercise this week & I’d love a fitness class at my office for @WorkplaceChall #MakeaDeal2016
Competition closes midnight on Sunday 29th May 2016
Terms and Conditions
About Workplace Health Week
Workplace Health Week is a campaign to raise awareness of the benefits of exercising during the working day. The focus of this year’s campaign is to ‘Make a deal’, encouraging employers to ‘make a deal’ with their employees, colleagues and themselves to introduce physical activity to their lunchtime routine.
Did you know?
40% of people in England do not exercise enough.Lack of exercise contributes to an estimated cost of £14.9 billion to businesses in lost working days.
According to recent research from the British Heart Foundation National Centre for Physical Activity and Health (BHFNC), employees cited that time was the biggest barrier to exercise and commonly said that a working day and a commute left them feeling tired with little time to exercise in the evening.
To overcome this Workplace Health Week is encouraging employers to focus on flexible working and active lunch breaks to help bring physical activity into and around the working day.
Find out more and sign up to the Workplace Challenge by visiting
www.workplacechallenge.org.uk/London
The NHS are looking to employers to take responsibility for their employees health. Simon Stevens, NHS England Chief Executive, has suggested the possibility of offering incentives to businesses who offer health and wellbeing programmes for their staff.
At yesterday’s Institute of Directors Annual Conference NHS England Chief Executive, Simon Stevens, spoke about some of the challenges facing the NHS and set out a five year plan of solutions.
We’re so fortunate to have a tax-funded National Health Service, rather than employer based health insurance, as in the USA for example. On the role of employers in workplace health Simon said: “we don’t saddle business with the costs of health care. But one by-product (of this) is that we tend to neglect workplace health.”
“The NHS will therefore now work with the Institute of Directors, and other employers and staff organisations to explore whether there is a case for suggesting to Government consideration of fiscal incentives – perhaps an employers’ national insurance rebate – for those small employers who provide their employees with credentialed health and wellbeing programmes proven to cut long term costs to the NHS.”
We at Exercise in the City are passionate about getting workplaces active and have seen first hand how offering fitness classes for staff in the office can improve staff’s health. Pilates classes are proven to help with back pain and muscle tightness – the results from sitting at a desk all day. And offering more active classes, like Circuits and Boot Camp, help to improve staff’s general fitness levels. So we’re delighted to see that the NHS are looking to work with employers on more workplace health initiatives.
Offering fitness classes for your staff can be just a small investment – with the proven benefits far outweighing the costs. Classes can be held before/after-work or in a lunch-break. You just need a free meeting room or space in your office.
Find out more about organising classes in your workplace.
If you would like to book a taster fitness class for your staff contact us at info@exerciseinthecity.com to find out more.
Did you know? The NHS spends over £40 billion a year on treating working age adults, much of which could be prevented. That’s on top of the estimated £32 billion cost of sickness absence caused by 130 million days off work.
References:
– NHS England Press Release Simon Stevens speech at the Institute of Directors Annual Convention
– ‘How exercising at work really could pay off‘ Daily Mail Article
– Institute of Directors Annual Conference 2015
Workplace Health Week is set to increase employee activity, health and wellbeing in London
We’re excited as this week is the first ever Workplace Health Week. It’s a fantastic campaign organised by Workplace Challenge and London Sport to encourage employers and employees across the Capital to get involved and show their commitment to workplace health and wellbeing. Something we’re of course passionate about! Read on for more information about the campaign and how you can get involved.
Workplace Health Week (18-22 May) is celebrating employee health and wellbeing and encouraging businesses across London to put more emphasis on workplace health by making a Workplace Challenge Pledge.
When 60% of our waking hours are spent at work, the importance of increasing opportunities to be active in the workplace is clear. Regular physical activity can help reduce the risk of many chronic conditions including: coronary heart disease, type 2 diabetes, some cancer, obesity, mental health problems and musculoskeletal conditions.
How can individuals and employers get involved?
Take the Workplace Health Pledge Both employees and employers can make a pledge via the Workplace Challenge website. With individuals making a personal commitment to increasing their levels of workplace activity and businesses taking action to improve the health and wellbeing off their staff by facilitating a more active working environment.
Share your pledge on Twitter and Facebook and help encourage others to do the same. Use the hash-tag #WorkHealth2015
Join the Workplace Challenge Midday Mile At noon on Wednesday (20 May) step out your door and get walking. Hosted by London Sport anyone can take part – just start and finish outside your office! You can raise funds too for the British Heart Foundation who are supporting the event. Find out more
Organise a Pilates or fitness class at your office An easy way to get active in your workplace. All you need is a free room or space, push desks the side and away you go. We come to you… so no excuses! Find out more about fitness classes at your office and book your first session today.
Vote for Exercise in the City!
We at Exercise in the City have a vision of bringing fun, energetic and effective exercise classes to offices across the UK. Until 5pm on Wednesday, you can vote for us to pitch our vision to Richard Branson!
Please vote today – let’s get the UK active!
Why should businesses sign up and commit to the Workplace challenge?
In addition to the clear health and fitness benefits for employees, businesses can reap the rewards of workplace activity initiatives. Research shows that workplace physical activity programmes can reduce absenteeism due to sickness, increase work attendance, reduce job stress and decrease use of the healthcare system.
I’m in – how can I get my employees more active?
Visit the Workplace Health Challenge website to register your pledge and find out more about how your business can support a healthy, active workforce. www.workplacechallenge.org.uk
Organise a Pilates or Fitness class in your office with us at Exercise in the City. Contact us to discuss class options and book in your first class today!
Email julia@exerciseinthecity.com
References
Business case – why workplace physical activity? http://www.workplacechallenge.org.uk/business-case—why-workplace-ph
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