logo redirect pin user minus plus fax mobile-phone office-phone data envelope globe outlook retail close line-arrow-down solid-triangle-down facebook globe2 google hamburger line-arrow-left solid-triangle-left linkedin wechat play-btn line-arrow-right arrow-right solid-triangle-right search twitter line-arrow-up solid-triangle-up calendar globe-americas globe-apac globe-emea external-link music picture paper pictures play gallery download rss-feed vcard account-loading collection external-link2 internal-link share-link icon-close2
New Zealand
  • Global
  • United States
  • Albania
  • Argentina
  • Australia
  • Austria
  • Bahrain
  • Baltics
  • Belgium
  • Bosnia & Herzegovina
  • Brazil
  • Bulgaria
  • Cambodia
  • Canada
  • Chile
  • Colombia
  • Croatia
  • Czech Republic
  • Denmark
  • Egypt
  • Finland
  • France
  • Germany
  • Greece
  • Hong Kong
  • Hungary
  • India
  • Indonesia
  • Ireland
  • Israel
  • Italy
  • Japan
  • Jordan
  • Kazakhstan
  • Kenya
  • Korea
  • Kuwait
  • Latin America
  • Luxembourg
  • Mainland China
  • Malaysia
  • Mexico
  • Montenegro
  • Morocco
  • Netherlands
  • New Zealand
  • North Macedonia
  • Norway
  • Oman
  • Pakistan
  • Panama
  • Philippines
  • Poland
  • Portugal
  • Romania
  • Saudi Arabia
  • Serbia
  • Singapore
  • Slovakia
  • Slovenia
  • South Eastern Europe
  • Spain
  • Sweden
  • Switzerland
  • Taiwan
  • Thailand
  • Turkey
  • Ukraine
  • United Arab Emirates
  • United Kingdom
  • Venezuela
  • Vietnam
Log In
  • Global Intranet
  • myCBRE
  • Services
    • Business Lines
      • Advisory & Transaction Services
      • Capital Markets
      • Global Workplace Solutions
      • Property Management
      • Valuation & Advisory Services
    • Industries & Specialties
      • Build-to-Rent
      • Building, Depreciation & Cost Consultancy
      • Hotels
      • Industrial & Logistics
      • Office Leasing
      • Retail
      • Self Storage
      • Sustainability
      • Flexible Workspace
    • Services for Investors
      • Debt & Structured Finance
      • Host
      • Institutional Investments
      • International Investments
      • Investment Advisory
      • Property Sales
      • Structured Transactions and Advisory
      • Leasing & Advisory
      • Metropolitan Investments
      • Property Management
      • Valuation & Advisory
    • Services for Occupiers
      • Enterprise Facilities Management
      • Host
      • Leasing & Advisory
      • Portfolio Services
      • Project Management
      • Transaction Management
      • Valuation & Advisory
      • Workplace
  • Properties
    • Office
      Industrial
      Retail
      Land
  • Research & Insight
    • New Zealand Research
      Asia Pacific Research
      Global Research
      COVID-19 INSIGHTS
      Insights & Expertise
      Talking Property Podcast
  • People & Offices
    • New Zealand Executive Committee
      Pacific Executive Committee
  • About CBRE
    • Careers
      Case Studies
      Client Tools
      Corporate Information
      Corporate Responsibility
      Investor Relations
      Media Centre

Previous

Press Release
Dairy exporter facility appeals to long term investors

Next

Press Release
Stepping up to a new way of working
  • Home
  • About CBRE
  • Media Centre
  • Workplace workouts

Workplace workouts: Stepping off the corporate treadmill, and onto a real one

Auckland | 29 October 2018
  • Email
  • Share
  • Tweet
  • Share

Workspace Blueprint CBRE Workplace Workouts

At outdoor gear company Patagonia, employees have been known to cut out of work to go surfing. Another very well-known tech giant scatters its campus with athletics fields to keep people moving. And at health care provider Kaiser Permanente, workers can use a bike-share program to move about the company’s campus or clear their heads with a trail ride.

In other words, if you’re looking to stay fit while on the job, you’ve got a lot more options than just a standing desk these days.

Not every company offers personalized yoga classes or an in-office climbing wall, of course, but a substantial majority of employers consider workplace wellness and fitness programs an important perk, says Stefan Gingerich, a senior research analyst at StayWell, a Yardley, Pa.-based company that helps employers design and implement such programs.

“Workplace wellness or well-being programs are quite common,” Gingerich says, citing a recent survey of employers by Fidelity and the National Business Group on Health that found that “86 percent of companies have [employee] well-being as part of their business strategy.”

These programs vary in scope and composition, he says, but most include aspects designed to tackle common health factors like exercise, nutrition and stress management.

Awareness of the benefits of workplace exercise has spiked in recent years as studies have found that long periods of sitting can be detrimental to people’s health. Much of this work has been led by Mayo Clinic physician Dr. James Levine, and so it’s perhaps only appropriate that the nonprofit medical research group provides employees with an online portal for tracking their health and fitness, as well as subsidized memberships to on-site or nearby fitness centers. Mayo’s Worksite Wellness Champion Program offers employees work site presentations covering topics ranging from diet planning to stretching exercises.

The trend toward incorporating exercise into the workplace isn’t just a U.S. phenomenon. For instance, in the U.K., software firm PCA Predict has taken advantage of its location near the River Severn to offer employees kayaks that they can use to paddle about when they need a break.

In Sweden, employers provide workers with Friskvårdskuponger, tax-free “wellness vouchers” that can be used for a variety of exercise activities like gym and dance classes, team sports and swimming, as well as massage, yoga, and weight and nutrition counseling.

Gingerich says that looking ahead, he sees a trend of companies expanding beyond a focus on just physical health to a “broader definition of ‘health’ or ‘well-being’ that encompasses not only physical well-being, but also emotional well-being, mental well-being, financial well-being and more.”

He adds that he expects to see companies incorporate technologies like digital sleep and activity trackers that can help employees set and pursue health goals not just while they’re at work, but around the clock.

Regardless of a company’s exact offerings, the most important factor in determining whether workplace exercise initiatives are effective is whether or not the organization has established “a culture of health and has strategic communications to support the programs,” Gingerich says.

“It’s important not to confuse an incentive program with an employee health and well-being strategy,” he says. “Simply offering financial incentives for healthy activities or behavior won’t improve the overall health of employees in the long term.”

Brought to you by Blueprint, presented by CBRE

Featured
Related

Looking for new office space in Auckland? Find a workspace you’ll love to work in.
Read Magazine
  • Corporate Information
  • Corporate Responsibility
  • Media Center
  • About CBRE
  • Careers
  • People & Offices
  • Executive Committee
  • Investor Relations
  • Contact Us
  • Global Web Privacy and Cookie Notice
  • Complaints and Dispute Resolution Procedures
  • Sitemap
  • Terms of Use
  • LinkedIn
  • Twitter
  • Youtube
  • Facebook
  • Instagram
CBRE Limited and CBRE (Agency) Limited, Licensed Real Estate Agent (REAA 2008)