Corporate gyms may boost employee performance.
Survey findings presented before the American College of Sports Medicine’s 52nd Annual Meeting in Nashville, Tennessee, revealed that workers who used their company gym were more productive and could get along better with colleagues during days that they exercised at their company gym. The said survey was conducted to determine how exercise affects employee performance during exercise days and on days when they had no exercise.
Ratings for ability to manage time and output demands and mental-interpersonal performance were significantly higher on exercise days. Based on the same survey, at least 65 percent of the employees improved on these areas and the differences remained small but positive according to the researchers led by Jim McKenna, a Leeds Metropolitan University (England) professor.
The results were striking showing that both employers and employees benefit from company gyms because companies can expect of having employees with higher productivity level that also work better together. And on the note of public health, costs of healthcare are expected to drop for employees who exercise at work. Bottom line is that there will be fewer sick days, more tolerant employee relations and better attendance.
Employees, who also don’t have to travel to work out after office hours, can benefit from a corporate gym, giving them no excuse not to work out. As a result, employees who exercise regularly can feel good throughout the day and can relieve work-related stresses. According to studies, workers that exercise and take care of themselves do not become sick often but live longer. They also exhibit a more positive attitude at work and with the people that they work with, resulting to a more effective working environment.
And as for the employers, they can see and feel that their workers are both happy and healthy. Those who chose to building on-site gyms, with spas and trainers, can see how much this investment pays off and gives them long-term benefits, with employees that don’t get sick but become more productive.
When employees are able to improve their health condition, they also increase their work performance, with their morale higher but illness less prevalent, eventually saving employers on medical insurance costs.
And for employers who worry that no one will ever use the corporate gym frequently, they create incentives that motivate their workers, while they are establishing healthier and more competitive teams. In some cases, they require employees to using the gym for at least three times a week, and if not, they deduct gym membership fees from their salaries. So, as you see, options to motivate your employees to move their bodies and sweat with exercise that can be introduced to teach them that it is a good habit in the workplace.
Building a Corporate Gym
To get started, assess the interests and needs of your employees for a company gym by conducting a short survey to determine their living habits. You can also do a physical test on a sample group in order to measure fitness indicators. Next is to develop a mission statement and objectives to find out what you want to achieve for this company gym. Set a budget and create a timetable so that you can determine club development and budget to allot for setting up the center as well as the wellness program cost per employee.
Then, create a facility floor plan that you put to review in order to get the fitness and operational goals of the fitness center into action. When done, you should start specifying equipment needs as well as fittings and fixtures that all have to be addressed and measured. Consider the footprints of the equipment you’re considering, as well as the power requirements for said equipment.
Equipment to Consider
- Cardio is going to be your highest priority. Talk to your employees, find out what they want to do in their new gym. It’s been shown that the largest emotional and mental benefits are gained from regular cardio vascular exercise, so this should be your #1 priority.
- A stretching/floor space is a very important consideration, along with the necessary accessories like fitness/yoga mats, exercise balls, medicine balls, plyo boxes and agility ladders (to name a few) should be your second priority. Having a stretching area will lower/help eliminate the number of fitness related injuries.
- Finally you need some form of strength training. Perhaps your company is full of young bucks that want a full strength gym, well that’d put you into the minority, as most corporate fitness centers offer limited strength options. The reasoning for this is two-fold; first it limits your liability, and second it focuses on machines that more frequently used. The 4-way neck machine might make the jocks on your staff happy, but it will get used 1/10th the amount of time that a treadmill would.
You may consider recruiting a management company for delivering complete management solutions for your gym. Equipment rental/leasing houses often have their own preventive maintenance programs – and if they don’t, you need to change to a solutions provider that does. After, you can start setting up incentive schemes for building motivation among your employees by offering rewards to get started to this healthy living program. Some options include giving workers an additional time off, extra 15-minute on lunch breaks, gym passes and discounted insurance premiums for those with regular attendance.
When done with these, start promoting the corporate gym by establishing its brand and theme, which should support your company or organization’s values. Establishing a brand name for your company gym also gives this effort an identity. You can make use of leaflets and direct mails in forming a communication plan. Having an identity for your fitness space allows workers to separate it from the realms of their career-space, making them more likely to use it. Then you will have to implement the program so that your employees can start socializing and building team spirit. Next thing is evaluation. You should be able to assess outcomes, including effectiveness and efficiency, to see if you are achieving the goals you have established from the beginning. Know that both the process and results have to be measured, with the cost considered.
By establishing a company gym, you will be able to create happy and healthy workers and help them with their work-life, which can be full of routines where many of them do time-consuming and stressful tasks. You can motivate your employees and help them break the work monotony without them having to travel from the office to the gym later after work. As you know, it may be their biggest barrier to commute at the end of the day to work out, making many of them hesitant to exercise. If you would be building your own office gym, you will encourage your employees to have a more positive activity, while they are building good relationship, something invaluable for employee performance and productivity.
If you establish a gym, you can also encourage your workers to come earlier in order to exercise, while they can also avoid the morning rush, as they can also shower in the office and become ready to work on time.
Once you’ve decided and determined that it’s time to build a company health club, you can start studying your options. And when it comes to furnishing this gym with equipment, you can rely on us here at the UsedGymEquipment.com. In our more than 20 years of experience, we have helped build hundreds of corporate gyms while giving business owners the best value for their money by furnishing their club with top of the line, but low priced used gym equipment.
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