Corporate Wellness Classes
Employee physical and mental health has a direct impact on the success of your business
Kung Fit offers corporate wellness classes in Sydney, specifically designed to improve mental wellness, reduce stress and free up the body, allowing your staff to be Fit for Work. These classes are based in practices proven to improve a wide range of factors which have a direct impact on your team’s performance.
Find out more about the importance of corporate wellness and what these classes offer below.
The Impact of Poor Health
It’s now pretty clear that the mental and physical health of our employees has a direct impact on their success at work [1]. A healthy team is a happy team. A happy team is more productive, collaborative, innovative and efficient. All of this leads to greater profitability for your business, more satisfied employees and as a result lower staff turnover and lower costs to society.
This drive for a happy healthy team is why you see the likes of start ups and tech companies having snack draws, free coffee and chilled Friday afternoons. These might seem like nice benefits, but the thing that really makes a difference to someone’s life, to business, to society, is lasting health.
With work being the biggest single activity we engage in each day, it is now recognised that what we do, and don’t do, whilst in the workplace can have a huge impact upon an individual’s wellbeing and health. Many of us spend over two thirds of the day being sedentary, sat at our desks, sat in our cars and sat in front of Netflix once we get home. The World Health Organisation estimates that inactivity and the effects it can have on preventable diseases will result in costs of US$ 27 billion a year over the next 10 years [2].
Meanwhile anxiety and depression disorders cost the global economy an estimate US$ 1 trillion a year, purely due to lost productivity [4].
Bringing it closer to home, the cost of absenteeism in Australia has been estimated to be anywhere from AUD$ 7 billion to $44 billion a year! Meanwhile presenteeism, not fully functioning at work due to medical conditions, injury or stress, is believed to be four times as much [3]. Whether you realise it or not, the health of your employees is having a massive effect on your business, and things are only likely to get worse.
Major Causes of Lost Productivity in Australia
Within Australia, the statistics on absenteeism caused by chronic disease show a clear trend towards those affected by mental health, age and cardiovascular disease. Whilst not all of this is preventable, with the right actions, some of it certainly is.
The Australian government have already identified that 96% of working age Australians have at least one chronic disease risk factor, and 72% have multiple [3]. These problems are only likely to get worse as the average age of the workforce rises [1].
The stress experienced at work, and throughout life in general, as well as other mental health conditions can also lead to losses in productivity. Again this is due to absences, reduced efficiency whilst at work and also increased accident rates.
Research suggests that this situation continues to get worse.
As this happens, both from increased pressures and changes in population demographics it is vital for the wider economy, and your business in particular that these physical and mental health productivity drains are addressed.
Whilst the external pressure builds, we can fight back, and the sooner we act, the greater the impact will be.
Mental Health
In 2022, a report by SuperFriend, who conduct Australia’s largest survey of workplace mental health found that 28% of workers experienced a mental health condition within the precious 12 months [5]. Another recent survey found that 87% of employees feel a sense of dread at least once a month and 49% at least once a week. Surprisingly the figures are even worse for senior staff, with 55% of executive level staff and 59% of CEOs are feeling dread at least once a week [6]!
Of course there are many things which contribute to this; 97% of people surveyed indicated that national and global events had an impact on their mental health. It is clear that our work can also contribute to these feelings, with pressure of deadlines, expectations to be met, and job uncertainty. [6] Further to this, the very nature of many jobs these days, being primarily inside and sedentary can further exacerbate feelings of stress and mental ill health [7]. In contrast it is very well established that exposure to nature, sunlight and regular exercise are all powerful tools for improving mental wellness.
It is clear that supporting the mental wellness of the workforce is very important, but there is a trend of managers not doing enough to support their teams in this area [5], and whilst many companies increased their focus on mental health during the pandemic, the perception amongst the workforce at least, is that for most companies this has since dropped off, despite 93% of CEOs agreeing that it is important for their company to support the mental health of employees [8], and 54% saying that they need to do more [6].
So if our health is negatively impacting our work, and our work is negatively impacting our health, what more can we do?
Wellness Programs
Whilst there will never be a single fix to these problems, no matter how comprehensive it is, a well thought out wellness program can have significant effects on the health of your employees and the productivity of your business. Multiple studies have shown a significant return on investment for employee wellness spending, with one meta analysis even reporting a 6 to 1 ROI. [9]
Despite this however, typical solutions like Employee Assistance Programs and membership of health reward plans often see low engagement. For example, whilst 93% of employers in the US offer an EAP, only about half of their employees are aware [10], and only 3-5% of use them. [11] This is not to say that they don’t have value, but it is clear that something which is more engaging and more visible is needed; something which employees regularly use to maintain their mental and physical health, not just patch it up in a crisis.
This is where in office wellness classes come in. These classes can support both physical and mental health of employees, allowing them to release their body after having spent hours sitting down, reduce stress, cultivate calm and help fight against various chronic diseases. Not only this, but having a clearly visible and engaging branch to your corporate wellness program can help to raise awareness of your other efforts, in turn increasing the value you and your employees gain from them.
Kung Fit offers office wellness classes tailored to the needs of the individuals attending, based on years of experience teaching these techniques to everyone from university students to pensioners. Typically these classes incorporate stretching and mobility work, gentle aerobic exercise, qi gong (breathing exercises synchronised with movement, sometimes known as moving meditation) and seated meditation.
All of these elements have been shown to improve an individuals performance and wellbeing. Here are just some of the recognised effects of each:
Stretching and mobility work forms a fundamental part of rehab and prehab routines, which can help to alleviate the many hours spend sat down and using computers. Targeting the muscles which tighten during prolonged sitting can reduce tension, pain and the occurrence of repetitive strain injuries.
Aerobic exercise improves cardiovascular health, helping address some of the major chronic disease factors noted above, and has been shown to improve creative thinking [12]
Qi gong has also been shown to improve cardiovascular health, as well as a wide range of other health metrics, including sleep quality, energy, fatigue, stress, mood, feelings of connectedness, asthma, muscle and joint pain and stiffness, cognition, memory and blood pressure [13-24]
Meditation has been shown to improve attention, cognition and memory, reduce chronic pain, increase pain tolerance, improve sleep, reduce fatigue, lower blood pressure, improve symptoms of depression and raise perception of quality of life [20] [25-31].
Exercising in a group can help to build relationships and make people feel more connected. This not only has positive impacts on mental health, but can also improve team performance and reduce team silos [5]
Combining these practices into a single program brings compounded benefits, leaving participants more energised, less stressed and ready to return to work more productive than ever. Over the long term it will also help them to become healthier physically, and reduce the risk of chronic disease based absences.
Now you may be thinking, “that all sounds great for those big organisations with nothing better spend their money on, but it’s all a bit much for my company”, but don’t let your company size put you off taking advantage of a good wellness program. SuperFriend actually found that working in an SME was a higher risk factor for employees experiencing stress, mental illness and failing to thrive in their jobs, so there may be even greater value to be found in SMEs adopting such programs [5].
Why Choose Kung Fit?
Hopefully by now you are convinced of the importance of a well structured and comprehensive wellness program, and that incorporating in office wellness classes can be a powerful tool in your wellness arsenal. So if you are thinking about incorporating these classes, why choose Kung Fit?
Unlike many in the fitness space, I understand the day to day life of an office based professional. Prior to making the switch to full time fitness coaching I ran the survey department for the largest commercial heritage organisation in the UK. I’ve been where you and your staff are. Sat at a desk all day, dealing with clients, managing projects, typing away on the computer… I know and have experienced the types of physical and mental stresses that these jobs can bring. When managing drones flying around public spaces and dealing with utilities safety you can certainly get an understanding for what stress feels like, and at one point having been working full time and working on a PhD in the evenings, I know the damaging effects of long hours at a desk.
Beyond this, I offer everything else you would expect from a bespoke corporate service:
Expert Instruction- I’ve spent more than 15 years training and learning about the human body. I’ve put this into practice keeping myself healthy, battling the pressures of an office job, and over the last decade have passed this knowledge onto others, helping them to live healthier and happier lives
Flexible Scheduling- Want a morning wellness class for your staff to shake off the morning stiffness before they sit down to work? No problem. Prefer a lunch time boost? Go for it. How about something to combat that mid afternoon lull? Whenever works for you, we can make it work
Customised Program- Do you want your sessions to focus on one particular area? Do your staff enjoy and find they gain benefit from certain aspects of the class more? We can customise the delivery to suit yours and their needs. As we progress with classes I’ll gather feedback from your team to ensure that they are always getting the maximum value from the sessions
The nationwide, and indeed international, consensus is that more needs to be done. So join the other companies who are taking action to positively impact their teams’ wellness for the good of your business, for the good of your staff, and for the good of society.
If you would like to invest in the well-being of your team and reap the benefits of a happier, healthier and more productive workforce, get in touch today to discuss your needs. You’ll fight back against the pressures of chronic disease and stress, improve the mental and physical health of your team, make them feel valued and supported, get more out of them and improve your bottom line.