Work culture essential to get the full impact of Continuing Physical Education

Physical continuing education is a concept developed by Professor Dr. med Bente Klarlund Pedersen and Health Group. The concept is targeted at all workplaces with attritional work routines and aims to train employees to prevent attrition. Physical Continuing Education should not be considered as exercise during working hours, but as an important preventive work environment effort that should be mandatory or at least systematic. By implementing Physical Training as an integral part of a working day, it is our experience that it gradually becomes part of the work culture. This observation is confirmed in new research by Thomas Bredahl, Associate Professor at the University of Southern Denmark:

What can you do to keep employees exercising?

Workplace culture is crucial in determining whether employees continue to exercise after a trial period. This was highlighted at the Wellbeing at Work conference in Copenhagen on May 26-28. If you want your employees to engage in physical exercise during working hours, you need to change the culture in the workplace and make the commitment yourself.

Mang stops training shortly after

Many employees stop exercising during or shortly after participating in a workplace physical activity trial. This happens even if management has agreed that they can continue exercising during working hours.

- This is a pity, because exercise is effective in reducing muscle and joint pain due to work, said Thomas Bredahl, associate professor at the University of Southern Denmark.

Culture is key

The culture of the workplace - that is, colleagues, middle managers and the boss together - is crucial to whether employees continue to exercise even if the trial stops.

- The fact that it is good to exercise must be visible and openly stated as a kind of value base in the workplace. If this happens, more employees will also participate, Thomas Bredahl urged at the conference.

It is very important for employees that management accepts their participation in the training.

- Training should be a formalized part of going to work, he said.

For example, it is important that management announces when employees can exercise during the day and that they themselves are visible.