Issue link: https://nebusinessmedia.uberflip.com/i/994361
18 HEALTH • Summer 2018 Workplace fitness efforts: small steps add up \\ By Susan Shalhoub E volve Fitness, which now sits outside of the Framingham Technology Park, has told the city it wants to move into a smaller building inside the park. The gym's owners, Westchester Associates, feel the gym would do well and would be used by those who work at large companies in the park, such as Sanofi Genzyme, Staples and Bose. CAPTIVE AUDIENCES Full-fledged gym workouts, such as group classes in spinning, cardio or weightlifting are great before or after work, or even during breaks in the day. They benefit companies and their employees in different ways; and when fitness activities are con- venient for them, it's all the better. Getting people up and moving at work — or in the case of the gym, near work — just makes sense. But do employees or companies necessarily need to have an "all or nothing" view on getting active? Captive audiences According to the federal Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, workplace wellness programs with a fitness focus increase morale, lower absenteeism and improve productivi- ty. And with many of us spending upwards of eight hours at work every day, it just makes sense for company leadership to promote health where it can make an impact, the CDC says on its website. "Worksites provide a unique setting to promote practices that can signifi- cantly increase physically active employees," the agency says. In other words, workplaces hold a lot of promise in terms of getting peo- ple to move more. Ideal workplace fitness programs, the CDC said, are multifaceted, with policies in place, physical access to fit- ness opportunities established, social- support programs set up, and demon- strated support from management. However, said Unum Assistant Vice President of Global Wellbeing and Health Laurie Mitchell, there are creative ways to design and imple-