Who would’ve thought even five years ago that cycling would revolutionize the corporate world and its related sectors? Today, nearly a million people commute to work by riding bikes, as per the US government census.
One of the main reasons behind such a drastically increased number of working bikers is concern about health and fitness. However, this concern is also intriguing to employers since it impacts positively on work productivity too.
In this article, we’re going to relate five practical reasons that cycling can boost your workplace productivity.
Read on if you’re eager to know more on this timely topic.
5 Practical Ways Cycling Boosts Workplace Productivity
As a responsible employer, you can’t overlook the hassles on your employees’ end when biking to work.
A biker has to spend on bike gear and accessories, maintenance, servicing, etc., to make a smooth and satisfactory ride to their workplace every day. For instance, they must choose whether to buy cycling shoes without clips or clip-in shoes, take a hybrid bike or a classic one, etc.
If there’s no official sponsorship or reward system for purchasing a bike for commuting to work, things may get a little tough for the employees.
However, in the end, subsidized or not, having a bike for commuting to work pays off in many aspects for both employees and employers. Let’s find out how.
- Maintaining Body Fitness
One of the main reasons many working people have declined in health is lack of body fitness. Reasons behind this include lack of energy, gym expenses, lack of time, etc.
But here’s the best part of cycling to work: your employees don’t need to find extra time outside of their working hours to get fit; the commute to the workplace on a bike and back home will do the trick.
Cycling requires delivering vitality during pedaling. Hence, it’s a rigorous workout in itself. The more distance and diverse track one needs to cover, the sturdier one can get by cycling.
Thus biking twice a day for five days a week can surely help your employees attain optimum fitness. This, in turn, will give your company a bunch of healthy, fit, and strong individuals who can produce the best results for your business.
- Decreasing Healthcare Expenses
It’s indisputable that a healthy physique increases immunity to various diseases, including colds, muscle pain, brittle bones, etc. But to attain that type of physique, you need to work on your body every day.
Fortunately, cycling to work is equal to that type of rigorous workout. As we’ve mentioned earlier, it requires physical effort to pedal away for miles throughout the weeks and months. And this effort ultimately pays off.
Did you know that cyclist workers or employees fall sick less than non-cyclists? If that’s the case, the company’s healthcare expenses get automatically reduced. Conversely, there will be a boost in productivity, focus, and goal achievement.
Nonetheless, it goes without saying that you must maintain defensive riding while riding a bike in the evening or at night. Practice various safety tips for bike riding at night to ensure a safe return home.
- Starting Work with Positive Vibes
Working out releases stress and tension, and cycling does the same. If you’ve ever ridden a bicycle before for a certain period, you must’ve felt tired. But at the same time, you must’ve felt light and strong.
It’s this feeling of lightness and vitality that gives you a positive feeling about yourself.
Now, if your employees can start their daily work with such positive feelings, imagine the rhythm and productivity they can attain to achieve company goals.
- Reducing Absenteeism and Lethargy
According to various studies and reports, bikers are more immune to illnesses and lethargy. As a result, they’re less likely to be absent from work. While this surely is a good sign for any business, a few bikers may also motivate other employees to ride bikes to work.
Chances are you might have to implement an official sponsorship to allocate bikes for your employees. However, most enterprises around the globe these days consider it a long-term and profitable investment.
After all, arranging staff buses or other motor vehicles for your employees is far more expensive than bicycles. And with the current fuel market hike, funding bikes is a wise move.
- Reducing the Risk of Obesity and Heart Disease
Cycling to work can reduce the risk of obesity and cardiovascular diseases significantly. When you’re slouched at your desk, working all day long without much physical movement, you’re highly likely to gain weight.
However, going to your workplace every day by riding a bike can get you back in shape, shedding weight and bad cholesterol from your body. Biking makes you sweat heavily, which helps in losing calories.
Expert reports say that a grown-up person of about hundred and fifty pounds can lose nearly 250 calories by riding a bike for thirty minutes daily. Sounds great since daily riding can surely have an impact on the body weight of your employees.
Losing weight can make you more productive at work because it can increase your focus and attention. In the long run, you will need to take fewer sick leaves, as you will be less prone to diseases.
Hence, cycling to work can make your workplace more productive and engaging by shedding some extra pounds from your employees’ weights.
Conclusion
Since cycling is a visionary change in terms of reducing transport costs, increasing health and productivity, and achieving organizational objectives, it’s worth a try.
You don’t have to put the cycling-to-work practice in place altogether on such short notice. Rather, start with trials, such as cycling to work once or twice a week.
Arrange monthly or quarterly workshops and seminars to educate your employees on the importance of cycling. Hopefully, things will start to look up in time.
