As business owners or managers, it is important to remember that our most important assets are our employees. We want our employees to enjoy their work environment, and to bring the best of themselves to their jobs every day. Encouraging our employees to embrace fitness as a lifestyle choice pays off in numerous ways.

• Fit employees are less likely to get sick. A person who is physically fit is generally more resistant to the ‘bug going around’ than a person who is not fit. Reduced absenteeism and reduced health care expenditures are the result of a fit employee base.

• Fit employees have more energy. One of the many benefits of regular exercise is increased and sustained energy throughout the day. This energy allows the employee to stay focused on the task at handing, bringing the best of themselves to each task.

• Fit employees have more self-confidence. A fit and healthy individual tends to have a high level of self-confidence, because they have proven to themselves that they can accomplish what it takes to obtain a level of physical fitness. This self-confidence empowers the employee to challenge himself or herself, and strive for higher levels of achievement in the workplace.

• Fit employees inspire confidence. A persona, who maintains a high fitness level, tends to be a person in whom others have confidence.

• Fit employees tend to take on more leadership roles. Because of the many positive benefits of a lifestyle, a fit individual tends to make a good leader.

• Fit employees set and achieve goals. Extraordinary fitness often demands that an individual set and reach goals related to their fitness. Learning to stay true to your goals and see them through to completion is a skill that is naturally brought into the workplace. An employee with the proven ability to set aggressive goals, and then realise those goals, is a valuable asset to any organisation.

• Fit employees tend to have better attitudes. Fit employees generally ‘feel good’. They tend to have a physical and mental ‘balance’ that results in a more positive attitude in the workplace.

• Fit employees are less stressed. Regular exercise releases the physical and emotional tensions that life brings our way, thus a fit employee tends to have lower overall stress levels than an employee who does not engage in regular exercise.

• A fit employee base presents excellent team-building opportunities. Team activities like softball or tennis are wonderful ways for employees to take their professional relationships to new levels, and discover new ways of working together. Obviously, employees that maintain a level of fitness are more likely to participate in these activities.

• Encouraging fitness demonstrates a concern for employee’s well-being, and pays off! Employees notice when an employer shows concern for the health and well-being of their employee base through a variety of wellness programs. Further, it has been shown that employee turnover is significantly lower among employees that take advantage of a wellness program implemented by their employer.