Standing up for health and safety at work
Local authorities must take the lead in encouraging more companies to introduce exercise during working hours. It is good for both well-being and the economy, writes the chairman of the Danish Company Sports Association.
I live in Hillerød and would like to start this post with congratulations to myself, the citizens of Hillerød and the employees and decision-makers in Hillerød Municipality. It is very visionary and a great New Year's gift to the employees that Hillerød Municipality as of January 1, 2020 has made collegamotion a fixed part of the work week for ALL 5,550 employees.
At the day care centers, at Traffic, Road and Park, at the town hall and at the other municipal workplaces, there will now be sweat on the forehead and smiles on the lips for an hour a week during working hours. Hillerød Municipality is leading the way, and in company sports, we are very much looking forward to inspiring and developing collegial exercise programs for employees. This is our core area. What we are passionate about.
More municipalities on the way
Communities flourish when togetherness is cultivated with colleague exercise. As an employer, it's a huge benefit if employees meet in the locker room on the soccer field or for office relays in the hallway. Collegamotion brings us together across normal hierarchies and structures, creating sustainable workplaces where employees thrive both mentally and physically.
More municipalities are putting exercise for colleagues on the agenda. Hillerød Municipality has started the college exercise wave, and according to Slagelse Municipality's finance committee, voluntary exercise during working hours should also be possible here. We would very much like to support this movement among municipalities.
We want more municipalities, like Egedal Municipality, to integrate Workplace Exercise Day on the same day as School Exercise Day. An active day for both citizens and employees. In Egedal, activities were developed in 2019 that suit the surroundings in which the employees work, so that, for example, the educators can dance and play with the children, the care staff with the elderly, while the employees in 'the green' can use the tools and materials they have at hand. In this way, the wheelbarrow becomes part of a fun activity for colleagues.
When mobilizing for a change with more colleague exercise, it is important to know who is involved. In 2020, Vejle Municipality will train more than 100 employees as health ambassadors, who will organize and manage exercise activities and other health initiatives for their colleagues. In this way, they will take into account the possibilities and limitations of the different departments in Vejle, they will have health ambassadors spread across many of the municipality's workplaces, and they will start a movement towards more exercise and a stronger community across the municipality's departments.
Tailor-made municipal packages
We know that the municipalities have skilled and competent employees who can easily inspire more exercise in everyday life, but we also know that time is short and tasks are many. That's why we really want to support the good forces working for our common cause of more community and exercise. When the Danish Company Sports Confederation in 2020 puts a sharp focus on supporting all municipalities that want to develop colleague exercise as a regular part of everyday life, we do it in a way that is easy to access, and we focus on creating solutions for the individual municipality's needs, resources and ambitions.
We dream of helping to create even more attractive and healthy municipal workplaces.
When we choose to extend our hand, both arms and legs, it is because we would very much like to create a strategic collaboration on collegial action with more of you. You are large workplaces and you are important role models for the workplace culture in your area. At the same time, some of the most challenged sectors are in the municipal sphere. Together, we have the opportunity to make a difference for the key people who contribute to the most important areas of our daily lives on a daily basis. A good balance between physical activity and rest periods during the working day prevents attrition and promotes health and quality.
In spring 2020, we will launch a targeted municipal package with collegamotion, and we want to help on your terms. We know that the task is not easy, because how do we put the colleague motion in a good framework for both those at City Hall and the employees in the decentralized units? That could be one of your questions. We have the answers, and together with our local associations we can succeed.
We create and share knowledge
In company sports, we are creative and innovative, and in the coming years we will be at the forefront of gathering experience and knowledge across the municipalities that make colleague exercise a part of employees' everyday lives. Because we need to use the good experiences across the country. For the benefit of the individual employee. For the benefit of the municipality and ultimately for the benefit of the big bottom line: health and cohesion in Denmark.
This is important and we are working to get even more knowledge institutions on board. We need to map this field, colleague exercise during working hours, so that we know not only what exercise does for physical health, but also for mental well-being and, most importantly, how to integrate it in a meaningful way into the working day.
We are also looking forward to gaining more experience from our and TrygFonden's project 'More Active Workplaces'. We are currently following a number of workplaces closely and investigating how, through inspiration and training of 'first movers', we can integrate one hour of exercise a week in a meaningful and effective way in both private and municipal workplaces.
28 percent is too low
According to the National Health Profile, more than 28 percent of the adult Danish population does not meet the international recommendations for physical activity.
Of course, we cannot single-handedly reverse this unfortunate statistic. From a societal perspective, many more of you politicians and municipal decision-makers need to take responsibility for the time your employees spend at work. That you help create sustainable workplaces where there is a balance between work life, exercise and leisure time. Just like they have done in Hillerød.
We must remember that we adults are at work for half of our waking hours. It should therefore be beyond debate that a workplace is also a natural arena for movement, activities and collegial exercise.
Happy New Year to all Danish municipalities. In the Danish Company Sports Federation, we hope that in 2020 we will have an even closer interaction with more municipalities that want to cultivate unity and collegiality.
