Employees who can exercise at workplace (workplace fitness) are more productive, happy, efficient and calm, a study shows.
Two hundred people took part in the Bristol University experiment to test the impact of workplace keep fit facilities like gyms or classes.
Exercise re-energised staff, improved their concentration and problem solving and made them feel calmer.
Experts said the findings should encourage more businesses to provide facilities for staff to exercise.
Indeed, almost half of the “Sunday Times 100 Best Companies to Work For 2006” offered gym access to employees, say the latest study authors.
However, their work in the Journal of Workplace Health Management, did find employees struggled to fit exercise around their work and felt guilty about being away from their desks.
They also felt they might be criticised by colleagues for taking time out from their desk jobs.
The volunteers were asked to fill out short questionnaires about their mood and work productivity on two working days of their choice – one set for a day they decided to exercise and a second set for another day.
Read more at BBC News
