Today is the fifth in our eight part series looking at the eight Action Areas identified in the National Physical Activity Plan for Ireland.
The eight areas have been given 60 items on which progress will be measured and monitored so as to drive at a 1% annual increase in people meeting the national recommended physical activity guideline of 60 minutes for children and 30 minutes a day for adults, and to reduce by 0.5% a year the numbers of sedentary people who do not take any physical activity. The eight areas are:
- Public Awareness, Education and Communication
- Children and Young People
- Health
- Environment
- Workplaces
- Sport and physical activity in the community
- Research, Monitoring and Evaluation
- Implementation through partnership
The area of the National Physical Activity Plan that deals with fitness in the workplace begins with an obvious statement that “Workplaces have a very important role in encouraging and supporting opportunities for physical activity in daily lives, particularly given that many Irish people spend considerable time at or commuting to work.”
The benefit for employees is as obvious as it is in any other area but where workplace wellness programmes have won such a sizeable following in recent years, and among some of the world’s leading companies, is the win it provides for the employer through better retention rates, increased productivity and reduced absenteeism.
With more mobility in the working environment, and greater competition among employers to attract young, healthy workers and then keep them engaged, this is a key area.
In some ways it will be the space ion which easy wins can be racked up quickly. People are easier to communicate with through workplace channels and there is a ready made community of support.
The Cycle to Work scheme and existing Smarter Travel initiatives are being rolled up into one approach, led by the Department of Transport, Tourism and Sport and listed as an ongoing commitment of Government policy.
The next area off measured progress is to develop a framework for workplace health and wellbeing including physical activity that will be led by the Department of Health and include input from the HSE, the Health and Safety Authority and the Department of Jobs and Enterprise. That has been given a deadline of next year.
The last is to develop a toolkit for employers to provide practical guidance on promoting physical activity at work. This falls under the remit of the HSE and is a little weaker for having a catch-all ‘all stakeholders as partners but can be built on existing good practices that are in place at many of our large and mid size companies already.
Later this summer Sport for Business will be involved in a major event promoting sport and wellbeing among Ireland’s best and brightest companies. We will be launching this event, which will be open to 100 companies, at the end of February. If you would like to know more about how it could be a right fit for your corporate fitness, get in touch today and let’s start a conversation.
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Join us tomorrow when we will be looking at ways in which sport is being encouraged in communities to promote physical activity.
