Survey: as many as 60% of employees expect more support in terms of a healthy and active lifestyle from their employers

Physically active employees experience the negative effects of remote work less frequently – as many as 79% of Poles who exercise indicate that sport improves their wellbeing and efficiency at work. According to the latest edition of the MultiSport Index 2020 survey conducted by Kantar on behalf of Benefit Systems, as many as 16.6 million (60%) of professionally active residents of Poland expect their employers to provide greater support in terms of health and physical activity during the pandemic.

09/12/2020

Maintaining the health, efficiency and motivation of employees are among the most important challenges that companies are currently facing – on average, the negative effects of working outside the office affect 63% of the employed. The more days of the week people work at home, the higher this percentage. In the case of those who work remotely 3-4 days a week, as many as 74% feel the negative consequences of working at home. According to the MultiSport Index 2020 survey, as many as 40% of professionally active Poles currently work at home and 64% of them use the home office due to the ongoing pandemic.

Physical activity alleviates the negative effects of remote work
Among people who are physically active, that is those who exercise at least once a month, 42% admit that they do not feel any negative effects of the home office. Meanwhile, among employees who do not exercise, only 29% give such an answer.

– Healthy habits and an active lifestyle also have a significant impact on the professional sphere. They support effective work time management, reduce sickness absenteeism or stress, which is one of the leading causes of burnout. During the pandemic, as many as 79% of Poles who exercise feel the positive impact of training on their wellbeing and productivity at work. The latest MultiSport Index 2020 survey showed that active employees are less likely to deal with the negative effects of remote work. The biggest differences are visible in the case of health problems (-15%), proper nutrition (-14%) or the level of stress (-10%) – comments Emilia Rogalewicz, Management Board Member at Benefit Systems, the company that created the MultiSport Programme.

The MultiSport Index 2020 survey shows that as many as 41% of physically active Poles found a way to alleviate the stress associated with the pandemic in sport.

- This is a very good track, because physical exercise promotes relaxation and causes the secretion of happiness hormones such as endorphins or oxytocin – the closeness hormone. Thanks to physical activity, we can support not only our mental wellbeing but also our cognitive abilities. During workout, we stimulate the work of the brain and oxygenate the body. As a result, our memory and concentration work more efficiently, and this directly supports our effectiveness while performing professional duties – says Mateusz Banaszkiewicz, health psychologist.

The popularity of sports benefits
Sports cards are currently one of the most popular non-financial benefits supporting physical activity. As many as 60% of employees of large companies and one in four people working in Poland have access to them. The second most common form of sports support offered by employers is bicycle infrastructure, e.g.: bicycle racks.

At the same time, 47% of employees believe that their employer does not take sufficient measures to promote physical activity among employees. As many as 60% of employees expect their companies to provide more support in the field of health and sport, while 75% of physically active employees say that regardless of the development of the epidemic they do not intend to give up exercise.

– Such decisive declarations of sports needs result largely from the experience of employees accumulated in recent months. The desire to take care of physical and mental health strained during the pandemic is currently the most important motivation for Poles to exercise. The possibility of mitigating the effects of remote work through physical activity as well as its impact on work efficiency are also important. During the spring lockdown, due to the closure of sports facilities, as many as 43% of physically active Poles limited the frequency of their workouts. Most of these people very quickly felt the impact of changing sports habits on their wellbeing, health, and body shape. Today, according to declarations, many people want to avoid another change in their sports routine. The more so that during the pandemic, benefits such as the MultiSport Programme have been adapted to changing conditions. Currently, they enable physical activity both in sports facilities and at home. Users willingly take advantage of these functionalities which we can see, among others, on the statistics of playing online training available at kartamultisport.pl – says Emilia Rogalewicz.

Since the beginning of the pandemic, 74% of MultiSport card users have benefited from online training. In October, when restrictions related to office work and the operation of sports facilities were tightened again, the popularity of online training increased by over 100% compared to September this year. The users of the MultiSport Programme still use stationary sports facilities which operate in various formulas. Yoga schools, martial arts schools, climbing walls as well as tennis and squash courts operate without any obstacles, applying strict sanitary guidelines. There are also some gyms and fitness clubs which, in accordance with the applicable regulation, conduct organised sports activities under the supervision of a trainer. It is worth noting that 94% of Poles who visited sports facilities since the end of the first lockdown confirm that they feel safe there.

The MultiSport Index 2020 survey called “Physical activity of Poles requires support” was carried out by Kantar on behalf of Benefit Systems (the creator of the MultiSport Programme) on a representative, random sample of 1,200 Poles over 18 years of age (September 2020), a random sample of 1,000 Poles over 18 years of age (April 2020) and a random sample of 1,800 Poles over 18 years of age (January 2020). The survey was conducted using the computer-assisted telephone interview technique (CATI) from January 15 to January 29, 2020, from April 23 to April 30, 2020 and from August 21 to September 7, 2020.