The Impact of Active Living at Work Initiatives

• Overview of Workplace Wellness Studies
• Examples of Companies with Active Living Programs
• Evidence of Improved Employee Health with Regular Physical Activity
• Other Organizational Benefits from Active Living at Work
• Active Living at Work Programs Increase Productivity and Job Satisfaction
• Return on Investment

Overview of Workplace Wellness Studies

Active living at work benefits employers and employees alike, improving:

• employee health and well-being;
• organizational performance and the bottom-line

A significant amount of research on the impact of physical activity in the workplace environment has been undertaken and more than 200 studies about workplace wellness initiatives have been reviewed.

A majority of these studies did not involve control groups and therefore the data can not be validated scientifically. However, the conclusions attained in these studies can be used to guide strategic thinking and decision-making.

The evidence does suggest that an organization may reap significant financial and other benefits from the introduction of workplace wellness programs that include a physical activity component.

Overall, most research into health promotion and disease prevention in the workplace indicates that such interventions do indeed improve health, and are cost-effective.

Examples of Companies with Active Living Programs

Many well-known businesses have introduced physical activity programs and have documented their results. For example:

Canadian Companies	U. S. Companies	U. S. Companies cont'd
Alcan	Adolph Coors	Prudential Insurance
BC Hydro & Accenture Business Services of BC	American Airlines	Steelcase
BEI/PECAL	AT&T	Tenneco
Canada Life Assurance	Boeing Aircraft	Travellers Insurance
Canada Post	City of Birmingham	Union Pacific
Canada Safeway	Control Data	Xerox
Canadian National (CN)	DuPont
Electrohome	Equitable Life Insurance
Imperial Oil Resources	General Electric
Magna Corporation	General Mills
Malette Inc.	General Motors
MDS Nordion	Goodyear
Merck Frosst	Honeywell
Metro Toronto Municipal Government	Johnson & Johnson
Nortel	Kimberley Clark
Saskatchewan Provincial Government	Mesa Petroleum
Shell Canada	Metropolitan Life
Vancouver International Airport Authority	NASA
Veterans Affairs Canada	Pepsico
For more information about companies that are walking the talk when it comes to promoting active living at work, please visit the Business Case Studies & Template section.

Evidence of Improved Employee Health with Regular Physical Activity

Most recent studies suggest that participation in regular physical activity plays a positive role in improving employee health.

The following results, linked to risk factors and risk precursors, have been documented:

• Cardiovascular Health
• Hypertension
• Cholesterol
• Reduced Risk of Cancer
• Reduced Type 2 Diabetes Risk
• Reduced Musculoskeletal Disorders
• Reduced Risk of Osteoporosis
• Improved Respiratory Function
• Reduced Incidence of Illness/Injury/Health Risk
• Reduced Obesity
• Reducing Smoking
• Increased Safety
• Reduced Impact of Stress and Depression

Cardiovascular Health

Regular physical activity has been linked to:

• Prevention of coronary heart disease and stroke;
• Reduced risk of coronary heart disease mortality and fatal reinfarctions;
• Increased recovery capacity from a cardiac event;
• Reduced coronary atherosclerosis;
• Improved aerobic capacity;
• Lower resting heart rate;
• Decreased blood triglyceride levels; and
• Increased endurance time.

Hypertension

An inverse relationship exists between blood pressure and physical activity, independent of overweight or obesity. Increased physical activity helps lower both systolic and diastolic blood pressure, while exercise training decreases blood pressure in overweight/obese individuals with high normal blood pressure and hypertension

Cholesterol

Participation in active living programs can lead to:

• Reduced total serum cholesterol;
• Increased level of protective high-density lipoproteins;
• Reduced triglycerides; and
• Beneficial effects may begin to occur within the first month of starting a physical activity program.

Reduced Risk of Cancer

Experts agree that over half of all cancers in developed countries could be prevented if population-wide measures to promote healthy behaviors (including weight control, implementation of a healthy diet, the reduction of tobacco use, and the increase of physical activity) were implemented.

Physical activity lowers the risk of colon cancer and breast cancer. Physical activity has also served as an effective tool in rehabilitating patients with breast cancer. Workplace health promotion programs can reduce cancer risks.

Reduced Type 2 Diabetes Risk

Exercise significantly reduces the risk of developing insulin-resistance by improving glucose tolerance and insulin action in individuals predisposed to develop type 2 diabetes.

Lifestyle intervention programs involving diet and/or exercise reduced the progression of impaired glucose tolerance to type 2 diabetes. Moderate physical activity combined with weight loss and a balanced diet can confer a 50-60% reduction in risk of developing diabetes among those already at high risk.

Reduced Musculoskeletal Disorders

Regular physical activity has been linked to:

• Reduced injuries to the lower back;
• Faster recovery time when injuries occur;
• Fewer relapses;
• Increased joint flexibility and abdominal muscle strength (70% of low back pain is due to poor flexibility and abdominal muscle tone);
• Greater stamina, overall body strength, endurance, balance and coordination (important in occupational safety);
• Reduced chronic fatigue;
• Higher pain threshold and improved self-efficacy among persons with osteoarthritis (including increased gait velocity and increased range of motion); and
• Reduced risk of back injury.

Reduced Risk of Osteoporosis

Active living has been linked to:

• Increased bone density in pre-menopausal women; and
• Reduced bone loss or facilitation of some gain in bone mineral content in postmenopausal women.

Improved Respiratory Function

Participation in physical activities can lead to improved aerobic capacity and increased maximum oxygen uptake.

Reduced Incidence of Illness/Injury/Health Risk

Reduced risk factors, occurrence and duration of illness and age-adjusted mortality rates have all been connected to participation in regular physical activity.

Reduced Obesity

Participation in active workplace programs has been linked to:

• Decreased obesity;
• Improved quality of weight loss; and
• Positive changes in dietary habits.

Reducing Smoking (and its related illnesses)

Worksite programs show a modest but positive effect in obtaining smoking cessation among employees. Participants in active living programs are more likely to reduce or eliminate smoking from their lifestyle, especially if they are also registered in a smoking cessation program.

Increased Safety

The promotion of physical activity and healthy living in the workplace can lead to:

• Reduced incidence and severity of workplace accidents; and
• Reduced mental fatigue.

Reduced Impact of Stress and Depression

Embracing an active lifestyle can promote:

• Reduced physiological and psychological consequences of stress; and
• Greater capacity for handling stress (resiliency).
• Lower anxiety and depression levels.

Active Living at Work Programs Increase Productivity and Job Satisfaction

Most organizations that have introduced physical activity programs or initiatives and have tracked the results report that participating employees are pleased with the results.

Employer reports generally include reference to the following elements:

Increased Energy

Active employees report feeling:

• Less tired;
• More relaxed;
• More self-confident; and
• More productive.

Employee Satisfaction

Active employees report higher job satisfaction than non-active employees. Executives in one company stated that they believed that the workplace fitness program has had a positive impact on the company's ability to attract high-caliber employees.

A corporate commitment to employee fitness contributes to:

• A feeling of heightened energy and productivity; and
• A feeling that the company cares about its employees.

Improved Individual Performance

The ability of a physically active executive group to make complex decisions increased dramatically compared to non-exercisers.

Participants in physical activity programs report that:

• Exercise helps them to achieve higher mental concentration;
• They are more alert;
• They have better rapport with co-workers;
• They enjoy work more than non-participants;
• Physical activity improves personal productivity;
• Physical activity boosts morale;
• Physical activity improves stamina;
• Physical activity induces sounder sleep;
• Physical activity improves reaction time;
• Physical activity improves mental alertness; and
• Physical activity improves memory;

Some studies report that employees involved in physical activity programs commit fewer errors on tasks involving concentration and short-term memory as compared to workers not involved in physical activity programs

Studies suggest that when compared to the average office worker, whose efficiency decreases 50% for the final two hours of the working day, exercise adherents work at full efficiency all day, amounting to a 12.5% increase in personal productivity

In summary, studies show that individual work performance can be improved by a factor of 4-15% when people are engaged in regular physical activity.

Other Organizational Benefits from Active Living at Work: Employee benefit cost control

1. Health Care / Health Insurance Costs
A review of 23 studies which examined health-care cost outcomes of health promotion and workplace wellness programs found an average reduction 26% in health-care costs.

2. Short Term Disability / Workers' Compensation (WCB/WSIB)
Active living programs reduce the costs of short-term disability programs because they reduce the number of claims/incidents and they reduce the duration of incidents.

Physically fit workers have fewer injuries. When injuries do occur, they tend to be shorter in duration and therefore less costly. For example:

• 14-25% fewer disability days have been reported for physically active employees;
• Physical activity programs can reduce the incidence of injury by 25%; and
• costs of 30% has been reported by four studies which examined this topic.

3. Reduced Absenteeism
Organizations have reported that physical activity programs reduce absenteeism by up to 20%. This demonstrates an improvement of up to 1.6 days in attendance per participant, per year. For example: In Canada, this varies from as little as 0.8 days at Canada Post, to 3.35 days at Metropolitan Toronto, and 6.5 days at Canada Safeway in Winnipeg.

Results from selected studies indicate that physically active employees take 27% fewer days of sick leave. For example: BC Hydro estimates $1.2 million in reduced sick leave costs annually as a result of physical activity initiative.

4. Reduced Turnover
The turnover rate among fitness program participants is lower than for non-participants. For example: this has amounted to 8.1% less turnover at Canada Life, 13% at Tenneco and 7% at BC Hydro.

Return on Investment

Evidence in Canada :

Canada Life in Toronto showed a return on investment of $3.40 on each corporate dollar invested on reduced turnover, as well as productivity gains and decreased medical claims.

Dr. Roy Shephard found corporate wellness programs returned a cumulative economic benefit of $500-$700 per worker, per year.

Municipal employees in Toronto missed 3.35 fewer days in the first six months of their 'Metro Fit' fitness programs than employees not enrolled in the program.

BC Hydro employees enrolled in a work-sponsored fitness program had a turnover rate of 3.5% compared with the company average of 10.3%.

The Canadian Life Assurance Company found that the turnover rate for fitness program participants was 32.4% lower than the average over a seven-year period.

Toronto Life Assurance found that employee turnover for those enrolled in the company's fitness program was 1.5% versus 15% for non-participants.

Evidence in the United States:

• Bank of America - $5.96/$1
• PacBell - $3.10/$1
• Wisconsin School District - $4.47/$1
• Prudential Insurance - $2.90/$1
• General Mills - $3.50/$1

A review of 16 studies of worksite health promotion programs which reported on benefit-cost ratios reported an average benefit-to-cost ratio of 5.93.