Majority in favour of compulsory training during working hours
Danes are positive towards training during working hours, according to a new Wilke poll for Avisen.dk. The Mayor of Copenhagen, Sisse Marie Welling (SF), believes that training can prevent wear and tear. She is backed by researchers and nursing homes.
A large majority of Danes support compulsory training during working hours. This is according to a new survey conducted by the research institute Wilke for Avisen.dk. 4 out of 5 Danes believe that it is either a 'really good idea' or a 'good idea' that jumping jacks and squats become part of the job description in more workplaces.
The survey comes at a time when the debate on attrition and the ability of individuals to work to a late age is at the heart of the political agenda.
In the City of Copenhagen, Sisse Marie Welling (SF), Mayor of Health and Social Care, believes that training during working hours can help keep, for example, caregivers in the labor market longer.
Lasting for a long working life
- Newly qualified social workers in their early 20s have to work until they are over 73. If this is to be possible without them becoming worn out and having to take early retirement, I as an employer have to take care of them and make sure they can withstand a long working life. Training during working hours is part of that for us," says the mayor.
In 2017, the municipality introduced mandatory training during working hours for all care, kitchen and cleaning staff as part of a two-year project. A minimum of one hour of training per week is required for it to be effective.
The project was introduced following a pilot project that showed that low back pain was reduced by almost 30 percent. At the same time, both energy levels and sleep quality improved.
Sweat on the forehead
In Amager, social workers, kitchen and cleaning staff get their pulses racing every week at the Peder Lykke Center nursing home when mandatory training is on the schedule. Center manager Mette Olsen is pleased that the employees get a little sweat on their foreheads when they pull on rubber bands and stretch out.
- I think it is a good investment. Finally, some people say that we need exercise. Many people believe - including employees - that they get enough exercise at work as it is. But that is precisely one of the misconceptions. It has to be a proper form of exercise, she says. "I know that if we don't exercise, we get worn out, no matter what we do. You have training in the fire brigade, the police and other industries where you use yourself a lot both mentally and physically. So I think it's really quite fair," says Mette Olsen, Head of the Peder Lykke Center on Amager. Photo: Sigrid Friis Neergaard
Reduction in sick leave
At the University of Southern Denmark, Professor Emeritus at the Department of Sports Science and Biomechanics, Gisela Sjøgaard, notes the development with interest. She is part of the Research Unit for Physical Activity and Health in Working Life and has been researching exercise and working life since 2006.
- We can demonstrate in some studies that there is less sick leave if employees exercise for at least one hour a week. Everyone can benefit from it. The body becomes stronger and can better tolerate the stresses and strains of work," she says, adding that the research unit has not found any disadvantages of training during working hours.
Sisse Marie Welling has no evidence that sick leave is being reduced, but she also has high hopes for the project.
- We can document that the employees notice a reduction in neck and lower back pain, which are some of the signs of wear and tear that our healthcare workers can get. Therefore, I expect that we will see a reduction in the proportion of sick leave due to musculoskeletal pain," she says.
At the Peder Lykke Center, it is still too early to say whether it will have an effect on sick leave, but Mette Olsen is hopeful. 'It comes automatically when you take care of your body.
- "I think we will see a difference in short-term absenteeism in the long run. The body itself is an aid, and if you are not strong and maintained, I'm not sure people will be well when they retire," she says.
