How to boost physical activity in the work place

By

20 Feb, 2020

Are you a company and interested in improving the health and well-being of your employees?

Why not introduce a no elevator day? Or give a cycling allowance for every kilometer ridden to work by bike? Or hold a company bowls tournament? These are just some of the activities that a group of experts from cities, international organizations, universities and regional sports associations exchanged during their biannual meeting in Coimbra (Portugal) in the framework of Healthy Employee, Mobile and Active” (HEMA) project, funded by the European Union to promote physical activity in the workplace.

What makes this project relevant? 

Numbers speak out loud: 210 million Europeans are physically inactive, costing the EU28 €80 billion per year (PASS Project, 2017). At the same time, 13% of the physical active European citizens do their activity at work (Eurobarometer, 2017). The workplace is therefore an optimal place to encourage physical activity.

How does HEMA project boost physical activity in the workplace?

A report on the benefits and the solutions already existing both on active mobility and active workplace is being put together by ECF and the European Federation for Company Sport.

A survey to 1500 employees and employers across Europe will be launched next month. How do employees go to work? How often are they physically active during the working hours? What would encourage them to move more? What constraints and opportunities employers have in offering incentives for physical activity to their employees? These are some of the questions that companies will answer.

Based on the survey results, active employee pilot programmes will be designed and implemented in companies in Belgium, Latvia and France.

Last but not least, an app through which employees of a company will be able to track their number of steps will be launched during the European Week of Sport in September 2020. The company whose employees do the most steps will win!

You are interested in participating to the context? Or having the survey administered to your employees? Or in getting to know the best practices to get your colleagues active?

Get in contact with us: Caterina Dadà, our project manager in charge of the project will be happy to give you further information.

Website: https://hemaproject.com/

Twitter: https://twitter.com/MobileHema