Physical Activity

The physical activity of your employees may feel like something that is out of your control but there are many ways in which you can promote physical activity as part of your healthy workplace. Take a look at our handy tips and information about local support below.

What is Physical Activity?

Physical activity is a movement of the body that requires energy. This can include everyday activities such as walking to work or doing housework (moderate activity). 

Although activity of any intensity provides health benefits, greater intensity provides more benefit for the same amount of time. Activities need to be of at least moderate-to-vigorous intensity to achieve the full breadth of health benefits - see the guidance below:

The UK Chief Medical Officer has developed guidance on recommended physical activity levels for adults and older adults which can be seen on this handy infographic. The guidelines also help explain the different levels of intensity and recommended amounts of each type of exercise. 

For good physical and mental health, adults should aim to be physically active every day. Any activity is better than none, and more is better still.

Encouraging staff to start small and move more is better than doing nothing at all.

For more guidance on moderate and vigorous activity visit the CMO guidelines.

When getting more active, it is important to maintain a healthy diet and stay hydrated.

 

More than half a million adults in the South West aged 40-60 struggle to get 10 minutes of walking into their daily routine.

In Gloucestershire, over 20% of adults over 16 are doing less than 30 minutes of physical activity per week.

Employees who are less active can have consequences on your company’s performance. This can include:

lower energy levels

More likely to feel stressed

fatigue

decreased productivity

Being more active can reduce the risk of illnesses such a heart disease, stroke, type 2 diabetes and cancer by up to 50%.

People with these types of conditions in Gloucestershire, cost the NHS £160 million per annum.

Physical inactivity has major health consequences and is estimated to cost the UK economy about £8.2 billion per year. 

Physical activity programmes at work have been found to reduce absenteeism by up to 20% and physically active workers take 27% fewer sick days.

 

What you can do to support Physical Activity 

Promoting physical activity within your workplace could be simple things such as encouraging staff to go for a walk at lunchtime, offering lunch-time yoga or Tai-Chi sessions, or promoting local fitness activities such as walking groups or the Park Run. This will give people the option of getting more active without forcing it upon them which could discourage them. We have listed some ideas below.

 

  • Promote the use of a health app such as Best-You to monitor active minutes
  • Promote the One You Couch to 5K app
  • Promote the use of the FREE healthy lifestyles service – Healthy Lifestyles Gloucestershire, which offers free one-to-one coaching for activity, healthy eating, smoking and reducing alcohol 
  • Encourage employees to walk, cycle or use another mode of transport involving physical activity to travel part or all of the way to and from work (for example, by developing a travel plan)
  • Provide showers and changing facilities
  • Encourage staff to go walking at lunch
  • Encourage staff to take the stairs
  • Provide exercise sessions during lunch times and/or after work – bring in a personal trainer, yoga instructor, Zumba instructor etc.
  • Start up a sports club(s) e.g. football / badminton
  • Set workplace challenges – e.g. climb Snowdon in x days using the stairs
  • Provide your own exercise equipment for employees
  • Provide standing desks 
  • Organise sports days, park runs, etc – use your local parks
  • Offer discounted gym memberships
  • Have physical activity champions within the company
  • Provide guidance and advice to employees about physical activity and what they should be aiming to do each week
  • Support national awareness days or campaigns such as Walk to Work Day, World Health Day, Cycle to Work Day, etc.

Having a healthy workplace scheme should encourage employees to take on a more active role in a healthy lifestyle. When people are more active they tend to want to eat healthier too. See our other sections for advice on Healthy Eating, Stopping Smoking, Mental Health and more!

 

Useful Resources and Support for Employers

 

National Resources

There are lots of resources online that can support you with Physical Activity in the workplace and that you can recommend to employees, if appropriate.

The NHS  - Fitness studio provides a range of online fitness videos to suit different abilities and interests.

The NHS - Exercise pages have more information on the physical activity guidelines for adults aged 19-64.

Public Health England in Partnership with BiTC have also produced a Physical activity, healthy eating and healthier weight: toolkit for employers

Public Health England also offers a variety of - Campaign resources – download posters, leaflets etc that can help you promote physical activity in your workplace.

Guidance on using the tax system to offer gym memberships and sports facilities to staff can be found here Gov.uk Fitness at Work Guidance

The NHS One You website provides ideas for your employees to help them get active. Try the Active 10 app and Move More pages.

Local Support

Healthy Lifestyles Gloucestershire

Email: glccg.hlsglos@nhs.net

HLS Gloucestershire offer FREE one-to-one health coaches to support with healthy weight, getting more active, stopping smoking and reducing alcohol consumption

Visit Your Circle to find gyms and activity classes in your area.

We can move  is a social movement to get you, me and everybody in Gloucestershire active. It is a whole system approach, addressing all aspects of daily life to create an environment in which everyone can be physically active. 

We can move is coordinated by Active Gloucestershire.

Have a look at their web pages to find out how you can get involved and tap into a range of local resources and initiatives.