Our Move More Everyday promises will boost mental and physical health, and is likely to increase morale and productivity. You could encourage staff to be active when they travel to and from work, or explore ways to stay active during the working day.
1. We will introduce a more flexible and more active dress code to encourage our staff to move more throughout the day.
This could include relaxing the dress code if it is currently very formal wear, that makes it harder to move easily, and/or focusing on footwear, ensuring that people know they can wear comfortable footwear to enable them to move about more easily. Some organisations take steps towards this by adopting more flexible dress codes on certain days of the week or at any time when formal work wear is not needed.
2. We will register for and promote the cycle to work scheme, so our employees can access tax free bikes and cycling equipment.
3. We will make it easier for staff to walk or bike to work by introducing or improving shower, changing and storage facilities for staff.
You may wish to do some research with staff first to find out about potential demand and to see what they think about the current facilities.
4. We will introduce more opportunities for movement into the working day.
This could include: encouraging and reminding people who sit or stand most of the time to change their position, to stand and stretch if they sit all day, to sit and rest regularly if they stand all day, to break up tasks so they move about more, bring in walking and mobile meetings to promote creativity, increase energy, improve productivity and focus, in an office, switching some or all desks to standing desks or rise and fall desks; switching some or all meetings to standing, switching one to one meetings to walking meetings.
5. We will promote a workplace culture where work breaks are honoured, protected and promoted.
This might include encouraging staff to take their lunch breaks away from their desks, ensuring people take all their holiday entitlement, or to explore ways to discourage overworking.
Now that you know more, we hope you are ready to sign up to the Living Well Workplace Promise for employers in the Bradford District We will use our Workplace Wellbeing newsletter to provide you with news, tips and resources to help keep you and your workplace as healthy as can be