1. The Business Case for Active Living (insert your Workplace name)
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The Business Case for Active Living (insert your Workplace name)

2. was developed jointly by
The Business Case for Active Living at Work
was developed jointly by
Health Canada and the
Canadian Council for Health and Active Living at Work (CCHALW) and updated by Active Halton.
The Business Case for Active Living at Work has been developed jointly by Health Canada and the Canadian Council for Health and Active Living at Work.
They have produced an evolving web site that brings available research and anecdotal information to one place so that organizations can use it to evaluate how they could contribute to employee health and organizational effectiveness.
Visit the Web Site at

3. Physical Inactivity: A Serious Health Issue
50% of Canadians are not active enough to achieve optimal health benefits leaving them at risk for premature death, chronic disease and disability. (Statistics Canada, Canadian Community Health Survey, 2005).
Physical activity levels increased between 1981 and 1995, but stalled since 1995.
Federal, provincial and territorial ministers recognize physical inactivity as a serious health issue and set a target to reduce inactivity by 10% by 2003.
As many of you are aware, physical inactivity is a serious health issue in Canada. The most recent research done by the Canadian Fitness and Lifestyles Research Institute (CFLRI) is disturbing.
For example:
50% of Canadians are not active enough to achieve optimal health benefits which leaves them at risk for premature death, chronic disease and disability. Active defined as walking 30 minutes a day.
- While physical activity levels increased between 1981 and 1995, these increases stalled between ‘95 and ‘97;
- In Federal, provincial and territorial ministers recognized physical inactivity as a serious health issue and set a target to reduce inactivity by 10% by 2003, the target was not reached in 2003 and the date was extended to 2010.

4. Order a free copy for all your employees today!
Guide Leads the Way
Canada’s Physical Activity Guide to Healthy Active Living
Produced in 1998, it is the first-ever set of national guidelines designed to help Canadians improve their health through regular physical activity.
Health Canada and the Canadian Society for Exercise Physiology introduced Canada’s Physical Activity Guide to Healthy Active Living as a first step in helping Canadians recognize the importance of physical activity to their health. The Guide is the first-ever set of national guidelines based on tested research and outlines what activities people should pursue and for how long to get maximum health benefits. Currently only 27% Canadians are aware of Canada’s Physical Activity Guide. Not many know of these know the key message of minutes a day that can be accumulated in 10 minute bouts of activity.
The Guide recognizes that people do not have a lot of time and suggests ways for people to get active in and around the home, to and from and at the workplace and helps them to understand how they can build physical activity into their daily lives.
Currently only 27% of Canadians are aware of Canada’s Physical Activity Guide. (CFLRI Physical Activity Monitor 2007)
Order a free copy for all your employees today!

5. Health Risks of Physical Inactivity
Heart disease
Obesity
High blood pressure
Adult-onset diabetes
Osteoporosis
Stroke
Depression
Colon cancer
Premature death
The health risks of physical inactivity are well publicized by researchers, the medical profession and health focused organizations.
The include:
Heart disease
Obesity
High blood pressure
Adult-onset diabetes
Osteoporosis
Stroke
Depression
Colon cancer
Premature death
Experts agree that physical activity improves health and quality of life.
Source: Physical Activity Guide
Physical Activity improves health and quality of life

6. Health Canada Guide Recommends
30-60 minutes of physical activity most days
Accumulate activities 10 minutes at a time
A mix of activities that include endurance, flexibility, strength.
Canada’s Physical Activity Guide to Healthy Active Living recommends:
• minutes of moderate to vigorous physical activity most days of the week
• That people can accumulate activity throughout the day in increments of 10 minute duration and that people should build physical activity into their daily routines
• That physical activity should include a mix of activities that include:
- endurance activities that strengthen the heart and lungs;
- flexibility activities that keep joints flexible and mobile; and
- strength activities that help to keep the bones strong.

7. Why Active Living at Work?
15 million Canadians spend half waking hours at work
85% of Canadians value physical activity
Canadians need help in making active choices easy choices
Stress-related illness is on the increase and a majority recognize that physical activity will reduce stress
The environments in which people live, learn, work and play have a significant impact on health
Enabling physical activity can make a difference
Some of you may be wondering - Why Active Living at Work? And why is Health Canada promoting Active Living at Work?
Well let’s examine that.
Most of us agree that physical activity is essential to good health and research tells us that 63% of Canadians not active enough to achieve health benefits.
15 million Canadians spend half their waking hours at work, a majority of them are reporting increases in stress-related illness and many of them cite time as their biggest impediment to becoming more active.
It would seem, therefore, that if we want to increase physical activity levels, we need to consider what the workplace could do to help.
Workplace wellness is already on the agenda - if we can make a case that workplace wellness cannot be achieved without increasing physical activity levels, then it would make sense that business would consider active living strategies.
Research also tells us that the environments in which we live, learn, work and play have a significant impact on our health. “The perceived impact of the work environment on health is higher than any other setting with the exception of the social environment of the school” (Decima, 1993)

8. Benefits of Active Living at Work
For employees:
Improved fitness and health
Improved productivity and morale
Improved job satisfaction and team spirit
Reduced stress and back injuries
We already know that there are business benefits derived from Active Living at Work strategies, policies and programs. The data that has been accumulated indicates that there are benefits for employers and employees.
For the employee these benefits include:
- Improved fitness and health
- Improved productivity and morale
- Improved job satisfaction and team spirit and
- Reduced stress and back injuries

9. Benefits of Active Living at Work
For organizations:
Reduced absenteeism and turnover
Reduced stress and back injuries
Reduced workplace injuries
Reduced worker’s compensation costs
Reduced claims against group benefit plans
Improved productivity
For employers and their organizations the benefits include:
- Reduced absenteeism and turnover
- Reduced stress and back injuries
- Reduced workplace injuries
- Reduced worker’s compensation costs
- Reduced claims against group benefit plans
AND
- Improved productivity
We could conclude that Active Living at Work makes good business sense.

10. Why Now? Canadians are concerned about health and health care
Quality of life is high on Canadians’ agenda
Population is aging -- benefit costs are on the rise
Business is concerned about costs / global competition
People cite the following barriers to physical activity: lack of time, energy, motivation
52% of the workforce has little access to workplace health promotion (Source: Buffet Taylor Report 2000)
Why now, you may be asking.
Promotion for the Guide has raised public awareness. All partners agree that continuing effort is needed to maintain momentum to keep physical activity top of mind.
Canadians are concerned about health care and health - Canadians consider these two of the most important issues/priorities facing Canada.
Quality of life is also high on the public agenda and it is likely to gain in importance.
The population is aging and will become increasingly concerned about health issues and quality of life.
Business is concerned about costs and global competitiveness. Ideas that show how to save on the costs of benefits, how to recruit and retain employees, and how to improve morale could become increasingly important to employers in this new Millennium.
People cite the following barriers to physical activity:
- Lack of time
- Lack of energy
- Lack of motivation
Active Living at Work can help to break down these barriers.

11. Physical Activity Could Play a Role In Meeting CEO Priorities *
CEO’s Priority List (Angus Reid Group, February 1999)
Increasing profitability *
Attracting and retaining high-caliber employees *
Expanding number of markets in which they do business
Growth through mergers and acquisitions
Increasing productivity *
Launching new products and services
Obtaining new capital or financing
A recent survey of Chief Executive Officers done by Angus Reid in February ‘99, shows that physical activity could play a role in meeting the priorities of CEOs.
Their priority list includes:
Increasing profitability
Attracting and retaining high-caliber employees
Expanding the number of markets in which they do business
Growth through mergers and acquisitions
Increasing productivity
Launching new products and services
Obtaining new capital or financing
Three of the things on their priority list can be linked to Active Living at Work.
In this organization we have recognized the need for:
* Directly related to physical activity

12. Employee Priorities For Improving Or Maintaining Health
Physical Activity % Lose weight %
Learn to cope better with stress and worry %
Eat better %
Remove a major source of stress or worry from my life %
Drink less coffee or tea %
Quit smoking, or smoke less %
Change jobs %
Change my home situation %
Drink less alcohol %
Employee priorities for improving or maintaining their health are:
Physical Activity %
Lose weight %
Learn to cope better with stress and worry %
Eat better %
Remove a major source of stress or worry from my life %
Drink less coffee or tea %
Quit smoking, or smoke less %
Change jobs %
Change my home situation 7.0%
Drink less alcohol %
It’s interesting to note that the top three can all be addressed by active living.
As the Minister of Health said in his recent speech to the CMA: “It is often the individual who must secure his/her health. But individuals need support. They want to be informed.”
Source: Workplace Health Survey

13. Employees Say Employers Can Help By
Communicating more openly with employees %
Providing recreational or fitness facilities* 40.8%
Training managers being more sensitive
to employee concerns %
Providing or supporting stress control programs* 39.5%
Encouraging employees to improve their health* 39.0%
And employees, who according to the Conference Board of Canada’s most recent Survey of Canadian Workers are reporting increasing levels of stress, suggested in the Health Canada Workplace Health System Employee Questionnaire that employers could help them to improve their health.
Employees say that employers should:
Communicate more openly with employees %
Provide recreational or exercise facilities 40.8%
Train supervisors/managers to be more sensitive to employee concerns 0.4%
Provide or support stress control programs %
Encourage employees to improve their health %
Source: Workplace Health Survey
* Directly related to physical activity and
employee health/activity programs

14. Principles of Successful Program Design
Leadership Commitment
Clear Purpose
Inclusion (employee participation)
Integration
Key influence areas / supports
Program design is an important element that contributes to the success or failure of Active Living at Work strategies.
The design principles that result in success have been identified as
- Leadership Commitment
- Clear Purpose
- Inclusion (employee participation)
- Integration
- Key influence areas/ supports
These are parallel to almost very other set of management of change principles.

15. The Key is to make Active Choices,
Program Components
Health Promotion
Employee Fitness
Employee Recreation
As we examine program design we also realize that it is the integration of a number of elements that will result in successful programs.
These elements include:
Health promotion - that is education and information about the benefits of active living;
Employee fitness which includes assistance with the assessment of fitness levels and assistance in developing corrective action plans as necessary; and
Thirdly, employee recreation. Providing opportunities for employees to participate in active living programs.
The goal is to make active living choices, easy choices, for employees during their work day. For example, employers can provide bike racks and shower facilities for active commuting; they can encourage people to take the stairs instead of the elevator; and they can provide educational material and seminars.
The Key is to make Active Choices,
Easy Choices

16. Benefit Cost Trends In Our Organization
Please complete for your organization
In our own organization...

17. Age of Our Workforce Please complete for your organization
The average age of our workforce is….
Data shows that employees over …. Make more use of health services and benefit programs. More active employees will be healthier...

18. Evidence Suggests a Return on Investment for Business
Canada Life Study in 70’s found a return of $ $3.75 per employee per dollar spent on corporate wellness programs
Municipal employees in Toronto: missed 3.5 fewer days in first six months of “Metro Fit” program
BC Hydro employees enrolled in the fitness program had a turnover rate of 3.5% compared to company average of 10.3%
Canadian Life Assurance Company found that turnover rate for fitness program participants was 32.4% lower than average over seven years.
And a majority of studies show that there is indeed a return on investment for those investing in workplace physical activity initiatives.
For example:
 Canada Life Study in 70’s found a return of $ $3.75 per employee per dollar spent on corporate wellness programs
 Municipal employees in Toronto: missed 3.5 fewer days in first six months of “Metro Fit” program
 BC Hydro employees enrolled in the fitness program had a turnover rate of 3.5% compared to company average of 10.3%
 Canadian Life Assurance Company found that turnover rate for fitness program participants was 32.4% lower than average over seven years.

19. Makes Good Business Sense
Active Living at Work
Makes Good Business Sense
In closing, let me repeat, the data suggests that active living at work makes good business sense.