MOVE at work
Being active at work can provide employers with an opportunity to build a healthier workforce and a happier environment. On this page, employees can find tips and tricks to be more active at work and employers can find science-based, evidence-informed tools and services to help you build and maximize an effective workplace culture of health.
Why is it important?
With employees spending 7.6 hours a day on average at their place of employment, worksites provide a unique setting to promote practices that can significantly increase physically active employees and potentially affect the health of millions of working adults.
What can employees do?
Deskercise
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The National Center on Health, Physical Activity and Disability (NCHPAD) highlights 20 inclusive ways to effectively add more movement into your day in this poster that can be printed and kept at your workspace.
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Print out this Move It Monday infographic for inspiration.
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Bookmark this article from the Washington Post! They broke each exercise into ratings for how difficult, sweaty, and potentially humiliating it can be- our advice? Own your exercise routine!
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Greatist made a list of 33 deskercises to help you switch it up each day! Make it fun by asking coworkers to pick a number.
Deskercise!
Inclusive ways to get moving at work
Walk at Work
Create a walking map! Walk more at work by taking a break to walk, taking a lap on your lunch, or taking an extra minute at the beginning or end of the work day. Use RouteBuilder.org or MapMyWalk App for distance or simply list the number of steps.
Healthy Meetings
Take the National Alliance for Nutrition and Activity Healthy Meeting Pledge! The pledge includes items like hosting meetings with healthier food options and taking physical activity breaks in long meetings. Take the pledge and view the toolkit.
Move It Monday
Move It Monday is a campaign that encourages people to start their week off with exercise. By starting each week with physical activity, you can create healthy habits that carry out through the rest of your week and persist over the long term. You can find Move It Monday worksite resources, as well as free resources like workouts, graphics, and more!
What can employers do?
Physical activity in the workplace is linked to increased productivity, less absenteeism, and health-spend savings for employees and employers.
- Michigan's 10 Steps to a Healthier Meeting
- Michigan's Designing Healthy Environments at Work Website
- American Heart Association Employer Resources for Success
- CDC Worksite Health Scorecard
- Center for Science in the Public Interest: Healthy Meetings Resources
- Current Practices in Worksite Wellness Initiatives
- National Alliance for Nutrition and Activity Healthy Meeting Toolkit
- Physical Activity in the Workplace: A Guide for Employers
- Walk This Way: A Resource on State and Local Policies That Support Physical Activity and Wellness in and Around the Workplace
Where To Do It