Hup, One, Two, Three...

Question: how fit are you?

Answer: probably a lot less than you think you are – but, there are things that can be done which are fairly painless and can help you a lot.

We all know that current lifestyles encourage us to be lazy in many ways. We sit down to do our jobs, we shop online, we listen to music or watch movies, we love to go out to restaurants and bars. In fact, too many of us spend too much of our time doing just one thing – sitting.

And, some years down the line, we see our doctor about something and find out that our blood sugars are too high (diabetes), or we can't sit comfortably on ordinary chairs (too fat), or we're coming down with one of the various depression-related conditions. And that's if we're lucky. Because if we're not, we have a heart attack or stroke and our lives really go pear-shaped.

So being 'fit' is not just about the number of press-ups you can do, but is also about being mentally fit and it is only if you are both mentally and physically fit that you are able to give 100% to your work, and that is something that should concern an employer just as much as an employee.

According to the Australian Bureau of Statistics (ABS), about 60% of workers do not manage to attain the recommended 30 minutes per day of moderate physical exercise. In fact, in every single occupation group that was measured, more than half of the workforce failed to meet this guideline. And in the National Survey of Mental Health and Wellbeing, carried out in 2007, the ABS found that 45% of Australians (adults from 16 to 85 years of age) have had, or will have, some form of mental illness.

That means that, statistically speaking, 27% - about one in four – of the workforce has, or will have, both mental and physical problems at some point during their working life. Potentially that represents a huge cost (and not just in money) to employers, and perhaps the time has come when employers should be thinking about how they can help workers achieve not just work targets but also life targets. In that way, an employee stands a better chance of not only surviving employment but also being better equipped to deal with the pressures and changes that arise. They may also be able to make a much better contribution to their work, both in the form of the physical energy that better physical health will give them, and the motivation and creativity that so often comes out of a better state of mental health.

To stick with the employers for the moment, it is difficult to say with any certainty what legal responsibility employers have for their employees' health. Whilst there is a general duty of care for the health and general well-being of staff, with specific reference to safety in the workplace issues, for example, (physical health), and the anti-bullying and anti-discrimination provisions (mental health) there is as yet nothing to require an employer to take any further general steps to help employees with their health requirements.

This area will, no doubt, develop as legislation and the courts become involved, but there are very good non-legal reasons for which employers should become proactive, not least the ones mentioned above. All employers want their workers to be more productive. Indeed, many employees will want this as well, especially those working on targets and looking at bonuses. So here, in no particular order, are some suggestions as to how to improve staff satisfaction and productivity, and the company's bottom line:

Is it possible, in the case of workers who spend time at a desk, to encourage them to move around a bit more?

• For instance, introduce a 'no food on the desk' policy, so that workers have to go to another area to eat, and are unable to work through lunch.

• Depending on your type of business, you may consider removing fixed telephones from the desk, so that workers have to use mobiles, and encourage them to walk around whilst using them. (This may not be possible in offices where staff spend a lot of time on the phone, and would require computer access while talking.)

• You could have a fridge in the kitchen/staff room, to encourage people to bring in their own food rather than purchase fast food.

• You could set up a games area, so that staff can enjoy activity games such as those played on a Wii or Xbox while they are having a break.

• You could also consider offering subsidised gym memberships, and staff activity days out as incentives for targets achieved.

And here are some ideas for those in the workforce:

• After you've had your lunch or other meal, try to get away from wherever you're working and walk for 5 or 10 minutes. This will raise your metabolism and your mental alertness.

• Make sure that, if your employer offers you 'healthy' facilities, you take full advantage of these. An employer may have some responsibility for providing a healthy workplace, but workers also have a responsibility to use the facilities offered.

• If your work involves significant periods in front of a monitor, make sure that you get a break every hour or so away from the screen. Otherwise, you may well find that you get headaches and/or eyestrain, and will quite likely get some postural problems as well. Also, do think about your seating and hand positions – you don't want to get RSI or back problems, and both can be quite easily avoided with appropriate chairs or wrist supports.

• If you can, try cycling to work. It's good for the environment, you avoid the traffic queues and you get to work feeling good about the day. And when you're going home, it's a good way to get rid of the stress of the day, so it's good for the family as well!

Of course, all the above is about physical health and there's no doubt that, if physical health can be improved, then mental health issues are likely to be less of a problem.

On the other hand, to ignore the problems of stress, depression, burn-out, etc., is to encourage potentially significant problems in the workplace, and these can affect other workers as well, which will inevitably impact upon targets and output. We will have a look at this area in our next article.