Essay Sample on Physical Intervention Program Among Sedentary Workers

Introduction

Keeping the workplace environment safe for human operation is critical for any sustainable operations within a company. Occupational health and safety refer to the science of recognition, anticipation, evaluation, and control of dangers emanating from the workplace that would otherwise destroy or impair the lives of workers if not checked. The health effects emanating from the company could extend to affect the surrounding community and the general environment. Therefore, checking and ascertaining whether the activities of the company would not amount to occupational safety and health hazards is not only the business of the organization, but also the business of the government. In this report, I have chosen physical intervention program among sedentary workers as the area of study. This intervention enables the sedentary workers to change their lifestyle (long hours of sitting habit) and engage in active practice that directly improve their health status. Physical activity is an important area of study because research indicates that it could help sedentary workers to reduce to a significant level many life threatening conditions and illnesses resulting from sedentary work behavior. This report would explore this intervention with a view of demonstrating its success and importance in reducing health risks among the sedentary workers.

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Background Organizations have devised various methods to promote physical activities of their workers. The essence of increasing the number of physical activities in the workplace is to reduce the risk of multiple diseases. According to Manini et al. (2015), sedentary lifestyle exposes people to numerous conditions. However, practices that increase the number of physical exercises in a person's life would reduce these risks. Therefore, promoting physical activities in the workplace is beneficial to the company because it reduces costs associated with handling the problems resulting from the sedentary lifestyle (Manini et al., 2015).

The recommended guidelines from the health ministry suggest that adults aged 18 to 64 years should engage in at least 150 minutes of moderate to high-intensity physical activity in a week (Jirathananuwat & Pongpirul, 2017). This requirement suggests that the workplace environment should at least support the implementation of the moderate to intense physical exercises within the workplace. The assumption is that the company tends to incur more expenses and attract more loses when some of its employees are sick. Studies by Pricewaterhouse Coopers further indicate that a majority of the individuals who tend to engage in less physical activity are the employed (Pricewaterhouse Coopers (2010). This proposition tends to cement the notion that health personnel is productive to the organization. In other words, companies should create an internal setting that allows the workers to increase their physical fitness. Moreover, inactivity is cited as one of the significant risk factors that promote the coronary heart disease that has a considerable burden on the employers.

Theorists define physical activities as the movement of various parts of the body that involves the expenditure of energy (Manini et al., 2015). The movement of the skeletal muscles consists of the burning of the body fats, thus reducing their accumulation in the body and subsequent adverse effects. Workplace activities that expose the employees to long hours of sitting tend to encourage the accumulation of fats in the body (Bevan, 2010). Such groups of employees are at a higher risk of suffering from a wide range of health conditions, including high blood pressure - resulting from an accumulation of fats in the body, thus blocking the smooth flow of the blood, diabetes, obesity, among other conditions. Therefore, to make sure that the workplace environment is safe for the workers, organizations often devise mechanisms of dealing with problems related to sedimentary lifestyles. The proposals often incorporate the input of the employees who shall be affected directly with directives and regulations of the company.

The kind of foods that people consume, especially cheap food tends to permeate accumulation of fats in the body. This means that the organizations must come up with plans that encourage a healthy lifestyle within the precincts of the company. The overall benefit of keeping the company employees fit is large compared to sourcing or hiring new employees whenever some of the employees become redundant or ineffective in the workplace. Notably, physical exercise and mental health tend to increase the productivity of employees. The primary ambition of the company is to increase its production in the given market.

Additionally, the rate of production depends on the healthiness of the workforce. Other issues related to the health of the employees include the rate of absenteeism that is often minimal or less frequent among healthy personnel. Studies by Manini et al. (2015), suggest that the company can save a significant amount of resources if it embraces physical activity habits that promote the healthiness of its workforce. Therefore, the model of physical activities in the company should underscore the need to keep the workplace environment safe for the workers. Additionally, the health and wellness of the employees are the defining factors in developing a method that would encourage the employees to be fit to perform their tasks in the company.

Some companies use physical activities to encourage teamwork. The proponents of teamwork contend that it enables the workforce to approach the company activities or operation as a single entity. The essence of working in teams is that it increases the amount of output. Individual input in the company may be insignificant if the employees fail to work in teams. Nevertheless, the physical activities programs in a company encourage diversity in addition to ensuring that employees are suitable to perform their respective roles. The physical activity programs or strategies of the organizations tend to solve several challenges within the company other than the problem of employee health, bonding, and promotion of diversity in the workplace (Manini et al., 2015).

Strategies of Reducing Sedentary Behavior in an OrganizationThe essence of integrating physical activities in the workplace is to promote the productivity of the employees while reducing their chances of contracting sedentary health risks. Some studies focusing on ways of decreasing sedentary behavior in the workplace cite the following ways of solving workplace health and wellbeing. Organizations may ask their workers to take a walk during lunch break (Jirathananuwat & Pongpirul, 2017). Alternatively, the company may create staircases rather than lifts for the employees to use. Walking through the stairs makes the employees burn calories by exposing their muscles to move vigorously. The company may also organize physical competition such as bike riding, soccer, netball, or rugby. These sporting activities would allow the workers to move and break the boredom of the workplace practices in addition to engaging in beneficial physical exercises. Breaking from the routine practices of the company would engage both the mind and body.

Companies organize sporting clubs and run them as one of the ways of dealing with the sedentary behavior in the workplace. The sporting clubs of the organizations allow the employees to come together and engage in physical activities that build their bodies. The company tends to draw some benefits from integrating sports in its daily or weekly schedules. For example, the sporting activities present a perfect chance for the company to increase staff. Motivation and cohesion are some of the challenges that companies have to deal with to promote employee productivity. Fortunately, the introduction of sports within the company schedule allows the employees to build workplace bonds as they break from the formal operations. As such, the company would not only be solving the health risks associated with the sedentary lifestyle, but also address the challenge of employee motivation and diversity.

The company could also come up with a team concerned with the promotion of physical activities. The team would perform duties such as planning physical events in the company with a view of promoting the health and wellbeing of the employees (Pricewaterhouse Coopers, 2010). A larger organization may develop and equip its premise with physical activities training wings. While the initial cost of setting up the facility may be considerable, the benefits from the physical exercise would reduce future expenses that the company might incur. For example, a gym in the workplace would solve the problem of fat accumulation among employees who spend long hours sitting in the office. Besides, the employees can use the training wing to break the work boredom by engaging in games and other physical exercises.

Companies or organization with gym may consider reducing the cost of participating in the gym as one of the ways of encouraging the employees to participate in physical activity. The rationale behind this strategy is to build a positive attitude towards exercise. The company may also consult with the health promotion department in the best ways to encourage physical exercises in the organization. The company should come up with a leisure department charged with developing and promoting physical activities in the organization. Additionally, the organization may allocate resources for supporting physical activities in the company. The success of the physical activity program in the company largely depends on the number of resources that the company allocates towards promotion of such activities. Equally, a special allocation for sports and physical activities would encourage the employees to participate in sports.

Organizations have an obligation of building cultures that they want. It follows that a company can build a culture of the healthy organization by developing practices and rules that would expose the employees to embrace a healthy lifestyle (Bevan, 2010). For example, when a company incorporates sporting in its weekly schedule, it defines what it expects the employees to do. This would convince the employees to engage continually in physical activities that do not only benefit them. The support from the leadership of the company plays an instrumental role in encouraging a particular culture in the organization. In this case, the leadership of the company must demonstrate its support to the culture of participation in physical activity.

Method Used in the Study

For this study, I used case studies to explore the physical activity as an intervention in preventing health risks among the sedentary workers. The case studies used in the report are two from two American firms. The data collected from the case study indicate how these companies integrate physical activity as an intervention to workplace habits that expose workers to health risks. Case study is a research method that involves in-depth exploration of study topic by an individual or group. In this study, I used available case studies on the physical activity as an intervention to solving health risks among the sedentary workers.

Summary of the Findings and Real World Examples

Case Study O'Neal Industries developed an OHS program christened as an ONI LIVESMART program. The live smart program emphasized the importance of a healthy lifestyle not only in the workplace but also at home. The intention behind the introduction of this program was to reduce the sedentary health risks among its employees. This program was a response to current studies indicating that workplace wellness ha...