According to research commissioned by Fellowes, 54% of employers have actually seen good people leave their company due to a poor physical working environment.[i]

An increasing number of businesses are turning to workplace wellness initiatives to improve benefits for their employees.  Already two-thirds of European companies have introduced enhanced wellbeing initiatives.[ii]

Yet as the millennials and gen Z continue to enter the workforce in their droves, they bring a fresh perspective on what it really takes to protect the wellbeing and health of today’s office worker. And it’s safe to say that the days when a subsidised gym membership and a free healthy breakfast cut the mustard are long gone.

In today’s world of work, an overwhelming 95% of European workers believe that the office environment and office workstations are now the most important factors for wellbeing at work.[iii]

The cost implications of this could be immense when you consider that employers need to spend the equivalent of six to nine months of an employee’s salary in order to find and train their replacement.

According to Stephen Bowden, Ergonomist and thought-leader in active working, “To stay competitive, organisations need to hold onto their top talent. The cost to replace and train new employees up can be very disruptive. By understanding wellbeing organisations can look to retain top talent.”

Further, 60% of employees claim their productivity and performance have been either significantly or moderately affected as a result of a sedentary lifestyle, and 32% have taken an average of two weeks off work because of it.[iv]

More than half of employees wish they could be more active and introduce more movement into their working day, and 62% admit to finding it harder to stay alert the longer they sit at their desks.[v]

 Moving forwards

 In a nutshell, businesses need to make better workspace management a top priority. Why? Because we are sitting our lives away at work and it’s scientifically proven that this is bad for our health and ultimately, detrimental to the success of any business.

Sit-Stand solutions that allow employees to alternate between sitting and standing to add more movement to their working day are one way to combat these issues. They will make employees significantly more productive, healthier and happier. To top it off, businesses can measure the bottom-line benefits and prove this is one wellbeing initiative that was worth the investment. See here for the hard evidence.

 

[i] Fellowes Sit-Stand research 2017
[ii] Arkenford Research 2014, commissioned by Fellowes
[iii] Loudhouse Research, 2016
[iv] Loudhouse research 2016, commissioned by Fellowes
[v] Fellowes Sit-Stand research 2017