There were 2.83 million people on long-term sick leave in the UK in October 2023, according to the latest labour market statistics from the Office for National Statistics (ONS).
Desk-based employees can spend eight hours or more at a desk every day, which, according to research by workplace supplies company Banner in May 2023, amounts to 1,300 hours each year.
After two hours at a desk, workers report a declining state of mind and rising stress levels, a report by sporting goods company Asics in October 2024, found. After four hours of uninterrupted desk work, workers’ stress levels increased by 18%.
The research, which surveyed 26,000 global desk-based employees, prompted the sporting goods company Asics to start a 'desk break' experiment.
The company released an advert fronted by actor Brian Cox, which called on employers to allow employees to step away from their desk for 15 minutes a day – the amount of time the study showed would reverse the effects of stress.
Allowing employees a short desk break every day could help boost productivity, Katja Meeuwsen, vice president of human resources for Asics EMEA, explained.
Speaking to HR magazine, she said: “We see from our research productivity goes up, confidence goes up, and focus is boosted after only 15 minutes.
“It does make business sense to encourage your employees to move and take a break from their desk. This is an easy thing to encourage, and doesn’t cost a lot and can really help employees.”
Read more: Should leaders make exercise mandatory in the workplace?
Meeuwsen has taken this one step further, by embedding the right to a 15-minute desk break into the contracts of Asics employees in the UK.
She said: “The ad has definitely sparked conversation internally at Asics. The addition we’ve done internally is that we’ve put the desk break into our contracts and policies, which has created more conversation.
“[Some employees have said:] ‘I’m already doing that, so why is that really necessary?’ while others have said: ‘It’s really good that it's now more official’.”
This clause is available on the Asics website, to encourage other employers to consider adding it into their policies or contracts.
Senior leadership at Asics has also modelled this behaviour to encourage a culture where employees take care of their wellbeing.
Meeuwsen said: “Bumping into your CEO in the gym is not unlikely at Asics.
“The last couple of years, we’ve been really trying to create a workplace culture that encourages people to move, so not just go to the gym after your working hours, but we have classes during working hours, we talk about a 15-minute walk being great.
“It’s really trying to get that balance of ‘it doesn’t matter what you do, as long as you take time out of your day to benefit the employee'. In the end, it also benefits the employer.”
More than eight in 10 (83%) UK employees would consider leaving their employer due to a lack of focus on wellbeing, a report by wellbeing provider Wellhub, published on 16 October, showed. Meanwhile, employees with access to a wellness programme were more likely to rate their wellbeing as good or thriving (69%) than those without (53%).
Wet wipe company Nice Pak had a 4% absenteeism rate before it decided to introduce a health and wellbeing platform to incentivise employees to take care of their physical health.
The HR team introduced YuLife, a benefits and rewards app, that affords employees the opportunity to earn a virtual currency, YuCoin, in exchange for taking care of their physical or mental health.
Read more: Physical fitness and mindful movement tips to enhance mental wellbeing at work
“Whether it’s a brief, brisk walk, yoga, or high-intensity classes, you can earn YuCoin, so I think that’s what hooks people,” Emma Seddon, Nice Pak's HR officer, told HR magazine.
“Employees do quests because, not only is it good for their physical and mental health, it gives them a boost to their pockets as well because they can exchange YuCoin for vouchers.”
Whereas before, the HR team would set up group walks at lunch time and nobody turned up, the app has really engaged employees, Vicki Alexander, senior HR advisor and wellness specialist at Nice Pak, told HR magazine.
Introducing the app transformed engagement with their wellbeing offering. It has a 76% employee download rate and monthly active usage rate of 66%.
The app also encourages friendly competition among colleagues by allowing them to see each other’s scores on a leader board, Alexander explained.
“It’s something people talk about on a regular basis, whether it’s their position on the leader board, or if they’ve let their colleague overtake them.”
This has boosted employees' average daily step count to 8,500, “significantly higher” than the UK average of between 3,000 and 4,000 steps, Alexander commented.
Since introducing the app, Nice Pak has halved its absenteeism rate, to 2%.
On 14 October, health secretary Wes Streeting and prime minister Keir Starmer commented that weight loss injections should be offered to unemployed people with obesity who are on long-term sick leave.
This prompted the Institute for Public Policy Research (IPPR) to suggest employers that did not create a healthy workplace should be fined. The think tank claimed sending people back to work after medical leave would be detrimental if they returned to an unhealthy workplace.
Asics surveyed 26,000 global participants for its global State of Mind report, released on 10 October 2024 for World Mental Health Day.
Wellhub surveyed 5,000 full-time employees in the US, UK, Brazil, Argentina, Chile, Spain, Italy, Germany and Mexico between 21 May and 3 June 2024 for its State of Work-Life Wellness report.
