Employers benefit from a healthy and fit workforce. Although employees may be individually motivated to lose weight and maintain physical fitness on their own, employers can offer incentives to encourage their workers to do so. One common method is to open an onsite fitness center. A corporate office gym offers advantages for employees, and their use of the facility benefits the employer.
Lower Premiums
When employees exercise regularly, it improves their overall health. Regular exercise can reduce weight, lower blood pressure and reduce symptoms of chronic illness. This can result in lower health-care costs, which lowers the total cost of a company’s health insurance premiums.
Fewer Absentee Days
Employees who work out on a regular basis have better overall health, including greater resistance to illness. According to a report in the “Kansas City Business Journal,” use of an onsite fitness center can lead to employees having fewer colds. This may reduce the total number of employee sick days.
Cheaper Than Gym Memberships
Some companies offer an employee benefit that pays for an annual membership at an offsite public gym or health club. According to research conducted by the University of California at Berkeley, people who pay for annual gym memberships are significantly less likely to maintain a long-term exercise habit. Paying for employee gym memberships may not be cost-effective.
Convenience
The presence of an onsite office gym provides a convenience that makes it more likely that employees will exercise. It can be difficult to make time to go to a separate facility to work out before or after a long day on the job. An opportunity to work out at your place of employment makes it easier to fit exercise into your busy schedule.
By Holly Chase,
Originally published by www.livestrong.com
