SPORTS IN THE WORKPLACE

Have you ever thought if you could capture some of that match day lightning in a bottle and apply it to your workplace? If so, then it won’t be surprising to learn that encouraging and facilitating team sports within your own business can reap many highly desirable rewards, including increased productivity and improved company morale.

A study, considered the impact of sport on the UK workplace, from watching major tournaments to employee participation. It found that 90% of men and 80% of women believed that workplaces could use sports as a tool to boost performance. In addition, 45% of male and 43% of female respondents suggested that playing football, netball, or tennis together with colleagues would increase morale and productivity.

So, it would seem that introducing sports to the workplace has the potential to be a very good thing for your business. Let’s take a closer look at some of the benefits that you could harness for success.

Creating teams that work together

From an early age, we are encouraged to participate in sports, something the International Platform on Sport and Development says teaches honesty, teamwork, and respect for others, among many other qualities. Most companies rely on their employees working together to get things done, whether this is across a whole department or in more focused groups, so it isn’t too much of a stretch to think that some of these early-years lessons could be imparted through employee sports participation.

In encouraging your staff to work together through sports, you could be fostering a real sense of team spirit that is reflected in how they get on during working hours.

Improved health and fitness

By providing your staff with an outlet for exercise, you could see the benefits in your day-to-day operation. Fit for Work, an initiative set up by the government, recommends that employers encourage anything that can keep their employees active and healthy, including setting up a work sports team.

They highlight the science behind the initiative — the extra endorphins released through exercise give staff more self-confidence and energy, as well as helping improve their mental health. They also mention that employees who are in better shape are less likely to fall ill, which can reduce the amount of sick leave taken, saving money and increasing productivity.

Introduce a competitive edge

When your company sports team is up and running, there is a good chance that your employees will bring back some of the competitive edge back to the office. Working together for success on the pitch can bring out a winning attitude in many people, and when the team get back together in the workplace they might just apply that to the way that they perform in their roles.

What you can do to encourage workplace sports

When you make the effort as an employer to encourage workplace sports, you can show your staff that you care for them beyond their role within your company. The approach you take can be as hands-on or hands-off as you are comfortable with, but you should try to make sure that it doesn’t feel like you are forcing them to get involved.

You should take it upon yourself to make it as easy as possible for them to create something special. This could be as simple as arranging a place and time to practice, or going all out in providing them with the tools they need to excel.

You can do this no matter the size of your company with careful planning and budgeting — workloads can be managed efficiently and you can find the best deals on sports equipment and training gear.

Hence, there you have it, we’ve taken a look at some of the benefits that workplace sports can bring to your business, as well as some of the ways you can encourage it. All that’s left is for you to get the team signed up and out on the pitch.

Enjoyable workplace environment

“If it isn’t fun, it’s not worth doing.” This seems to be the intonation of the youngest cross-sectional segment of the workforce. So, can they ever be forced to “act like grown-ups?” Well, that suggests that gown-ups aren’t having any fun. Yet, in the corporate culture of the new workforce, day-by-day there is a re-conception and re-invention of the workplace culture. Yes, this is a generational tide that cannot be turned. But, why try!?! Go with it – find the success that comes with healthy living and a high quality of life. This doesn’t necessarily mean more money – but it often does – and what’s gained in the process: self-respect – is priceless!

So, besides having accessible on-site sports and recreation opportunities, what are the ingredients of an enjoyable workplace environment? More likely than not, it starts with understanding, being committed to, and following through with implementing the following:

A complete embrace with shared experience, because shared experiences equate to better opportunities…

• Meaningful, appropriate challenges flow constantly – where the challenge level and skill level of the employees are matched well – this positively affects productivity, as well as opportunities to further increase skill levels. Also, the more meaningful challenges people encounter, the more engaged they become – to the point where they can and will operate as fully invested…

• And, being fully invested perpetuates successful experiences, which are also vitally important for sustaining healthy workplace environments…

• Autonomy yields contentment and enthusiasm for the work at hand. Some social situations, including work-centered activities, can help to promote individuals as self-regulated and self-governing individuals. But, the truth is that others may undermine self-knowledge, self-confidence, and self-esteem. Being attentive to spotting and unmasking the opportunities for autonomy is at a premium in the successful workplace, and can do wonders to revivify the entire work environment…

• Comfort – Also, minimizing unnecessary discomfort increases productivity. Research clearly demonstrates the value of comfort, especially where productivity is concerned…

• Next is freedom – because the more freedom that employees feel in their work environment – to have the ability to get the job done, on their own schedule and in their own way – the more productive they will be…this too, is well established…

• Respect – When did treating other people with respect become so hard to do? Administrators show respect for their employees by asking questions, listening actively, and taking action on the ideas of the employees. These types of signals of respect can equip a cogent workplace for unprecedented relationship building. After that comes enhanced workplace culture as well as the inevitable economic success…

• Focus of control also comes into play. Meaning, people have the need to exert influence within the context of their working environment. This does not mean that the workers plan every aspect of everything that goes on – but, workers should feel like they have some influence upon the nature of their work environment…

• And let’s not forget, today’s work environment is increasingly fluid. Therefore, flexibility is also a necessary ingredient in this cocktail of life-quality enhancement. For the employee, what will flexibility yield? Several things, actually, including but not limited to expansion of opportunities, greater consistency in successful work life/non-work life balance, and responsiveness to change. For the employer – being flexible is a win-win deal. Flexibility is a good management decision because, let’s face it – the corporate world is less static now than it ever has been! Ever! And, flexibility demonstrates that diversity in the workplace is highly valued!

• In all, positive experiences that are value-oriented are a must. Few work experiences have the ability to boost self-esteem and self-respect more than ones that leave an employee feeling like their boss believes they have the skills and ability to get the job done right.

It’s simple, really – and employees everywhere will tell you: If we enjoy being here, we’re going to give our best.

1. Embrace Distraction

Distractions at work are often seen as an unfortunate by-product of our always-on age, which simply stop staff getting things done, but employers can find ways to harness the power of a mental break. Monitoring and restricting people to stop them surfing the net or checking phones is futile as well as intrusive, but there is a way to offer distractions that promote wellbeing.

Rather than relying on a no-nonsense approach to daydreaming, give people the opportunity to take a break from tasks and keep their energy high. Software company Splunk has a meditation room for staff to get some headspace, while LinkedIn provide staff with scooters to get around the office and inject some fun into the day.

From napping pods to meeting places for casual conversations, companies need to be creative with their working environments, add some welcome diversions and let individuals decide when and how they want to take breaks.

2.Understand what drives happiness

Sensitivity to essential factors that influence workers' happiness, such as a nightmare commute, monotonous tasks or being tied to the desk all day, is an all important step to an uplift in energy.

Give people flexibility and autonomy to work how they want to work, be it from home, the coffee shop or an alternative workplace that helps them avoid unnecessary travel. SAS Software is an example of a company that has successfully built this sort of flexibility into their employees' working lives, allowing them to choose whether to work in a country estate or a modern office in the city.

At this time of year in particular, with so few hours of sun, letting people work in places full of natural light will improve moods and leave them feeling more refreshed and creative. If the office doesn't provide that try to find other spaces for people to work from.

3. Make time for emotion

Without time available people don't reach out to help others. This is doubly true in the office. A busy environment with no time to think is one that fails to support those that are feeling the strain.

People need the headspace to lend an ear and the confidence to open up to co-workers. Bringing vulnerability into the office and sharing emotions is everyone's responsibility and employees should be encouraged to get into work and talk with their colleagues.

Leading by example is key and managers need to set the tone for others to follow; staff know that it's okay to cry at work. By allowing emotion into the office like this by letting staff know can build a supportive team of people, who understand and empathise with each other – resulting in better problem solving and less stress.

4. Boost energy

Bringing exercise into the office is the easiest way to increase energy, creativity and concentration. This can be through running clubs, yoga classes, or, like some Health cetres, you can go the whole hog and have an onsite gym.

Among the tyranny of desk-based work, a genuine commitment to better health means taking a stand against sedentary working and making sure staff are kept moving throughout the day. Try giving people freedom to work in different areas of the office or introduce walking meetings.

Schedule meetings at different times throughout the day to give everyone breaks and get people interacting up on their feet whenever possible. It's all common sense but without a conscious effort the office can end up becoming the slump in the middle of someone's day, rather than a time to be active and energetic.

5. Skill up

With the rush to get up to speed with the demands of a fresh calendar of activity, the beginning of the year can be busy, but making time for employees to pick up new skills and hone expertise is a sure-fire way to boost engagement.

Get people to invest in their own skills, with training and creative sessions that provide a break from the admin that so often dominates the new year workload. This can be in the form of internal training, or even spending the day out of the office learning a different speciality. Get people energised about what they can do and invested in their skillset.

Summarised Benefits of Physical Activity in the Workplace

• Increased productivity as people are at work more often and healthier, happier and more productive when they are at work.

• Improved health of employees including mental health problems such as stress

• Lower rates of absenteeism and quicker return to work after illness

• Greater staff retention

• Better morale, engagement and working atmosphere

• A good image to all stakeholders including customers, service users and prospective employees

• Fewer injuries at work

• Bottom line benefits as a result of all of the above