To succeed in encouraging exercise during the workday, you have to find out what personnel need and want. They are the people whose behaviour you are attempting to influence, so it’s crucial to understand their needs and gain their support.
The Worker Interest Survey
Ask staff questions that allow you to assess such key characteristics as age, gender, social relationships, family responsibilities and current physical activity participation.
It is crucial that you know this information so that your exercise initiative meets employees’ needs. Workers are not going to participate in something they are not interested in.
Ask staff members what they want, and then implement changes that fit with their needs and working conditions. for instance, staff members might not want to do activities that make them sweat, because they do not want to shower at work.
Ask employees what the business could do to make it easier for them to be more physically active during the workday. If there’s a common trend throughout your business, a single change could affect a lot of people .
For instance, suppose a large group shows interest in bicycling to work. They could want to shower and change after their commute. You could give priority to installing workplace showers and changing facilities. Secure bicycle storage could be important as well.
When you are launching a health promotion program that requires going outside, begin in the spring. By the time winter comes around, participation is already a habit.
Involving workers is key to increasing physical activity participation rates. Individuals are more willing to participate in and support physical activity programs when they are involved in decision making.
The following tips will help you produce your own staff member interest survey –
• Keep it short (no longer than 10 minutes to complete).
• Let workers know why you’re doing the survey.
• Rather than using all open-ended questions, which could be long and challenging to analyze, ask people to pick from a drop-down list of possible responses.
• Ask for comments and suggestions in one open-ended question at the end.
• Make it confidential and anonymous. Do not request information that may identify a individuals.
• When you’re including a list of potential wellness programs or environmental changes, make certain your worksite has the facilities and resources to offer them.
