Why use us?

The Business Case

In the UK…

Half a million

employees annually report suffering from work-related musculoskeletal issues (1)

Between £26.6bn to £29.3bn annually

is being spent on presenteeism (2)

£18 billion annually

is being spent on workplace absenteeism (3)

The amount of time your employees are spending sitting could be contributing to these issues. Data shows that desk-based employees spend a large proportion of their day sitting down.

 

Office-based staff spend a large portion of their day sitting… (4)

%

of working hours are spent sedentary

%

of people that are sedentary at work are found to be more sedentary outside of work

Evidence shows that people who sit a lot compared to those who don’t, are at higher risk of…

increased MUSCULOSKELETAL ISSUES

decreased CIRCULATION

DECREASED COGNITIVE FUNCTION

INCREASED DEPRESSION & ANXIETY

increased DIABETES RISK

INcrease IN EARLY DEATH

INCREASE IN WAIST CIRCUMFERENCE

INCREASE IN BLOOD SUGARS

increase in MUSCLE WASTING

Increased risk of cancer

INCREASE IN CARDIO-VASCULAR DISEASE RISK

INCREASE IN tiredness

DECREASE IN quality of life

Introducing Stand More At (SMART) Work and Life

Smart Work and Life is an evidence-based programme from the NHS, Smart Work & Life offers a wide range of tools to help organisations to create a dynamic workplace and to encourage employees to sit less whilst working and throughout the rest of their life. In doing so, there are many benefits to employees and employers.

SMART Work and Life

Just 1 hour reduction in workplace sitting has led to… (5)

%

of staff feeling more energised

%

feeling more engaged at work

%

feeling less fatigued after work

%

of staff experiencing less pain

%

of staff feeling more focussed

%

of staff feeling more productive

%

of staff feeling less stressed

%

of staff reported an improved quality of life

This is what employees thought about taking part in SMART Work and life…

I feel more alert when I am working and more productive.

Sitting less at work has definitely improved my performance at work. I used to suffer badly with the post lunch slump however I have found standing and moving more at work helps to alleviate this.

Apart from the obvious health benefits, I have experienced that just by standing, I have felt more confident and my concentration has increased. I feel that when I stand, I am more open to having conversations and especially more proficient in dealing with problems.

I feel less tired at the end of the work day.

SMArT Work has indeed changed the social dynamics of my workplace. I often find that the discussions I have with my colleagues are much shorter, more focused and quick.

Standing up during the day, especially when you hit that midday slump, really helps improve concentration and productivity.

All these benefits have been shown to improve the health and wellbeing of your workforce and reduce presenteeism and absenteeism = cost savings

Our research has found that… (6)

£4.72 return

For every £1.00 an employer invested

Employee productivity improved

By an average of 1.75 hours per week over a 12 month period

Get in touch

To receive our free starter kit and to organise a no-obligation quotation for any of our SMART Work and Life packages, please register your interest.

REGISTER

REFERENCES

  1. Health Service Executive (2021). Work-related  musculoskeletal disorders  statistics in Great Britain,  2021. [online] Available at: https://www.hse.gov.uk/Statistics/causdis/msd.pdf [Accessed 8 Aug. 2022].
  2. Deloitte (2022). Mental health and employers: The case for investment – pandemic and beyond. [online] Available at: https://www2.deloitte.com/content/dam/Deloitte/uk/Documents/consultancy/deloitte-uk-mental-health-report-2022.pdf
  3. FirstCare (2019). CHANGE AT WORK. [online] Available at: https://tinyurl.com/4m6xdxe5 [Accessed 8 Aug. 2022].
  4. Clemes SA, O’Connell SE, Edwardson CL. Office workers’ objectively measured sedentary behaviour and physical activity during and outside working hours. J Occup Environ Med. 2014;56(3):298–303.
  5. Edwardson C L, Yates T, Biddle S J H, Davies M J, Dunstan D W, Esliger D W et al. Effectiveness of the Stand More AT (SMArT) Work intervention: cluster randomised controlled trial BMJ 2018; 363 :k3870 doi:10.1136/bmj.k3870
  6. Munir F, Miller P, Biddle SJH, Davies MJ, Dunstan DW, Esliger DW, Gray LJ, O’Connell SE, Waheed G, Yates T, Edwardson CL. A Cost and Cost-Benefit Analysis of the Stand More AT Work (SMArT Work) Intervention. International Journal of Environmental Research and Public Health. 2020; 17(4):1214. https://doi.org/10.3390/ijerph17041214