Ten thousand steps and more. Take a yoga class with colleagues during canteen time, take a break at the gym to lift some iron or dispute a set of ping-pong… In terms of sports offers – as on many other plans – we are really lucky at Groupe Le Monde. In France, less than one company in five (18%) offers physical or sporting activity (APS) to its employees, as highlighted in a report by MPs Aude Amadou (La République en Marche) and Maud Petit ( MoDem) produced at the request of the Prime Minister, Jean Castex, and returned on March 14 to the Minister of Sports, Roxana Maracineanu.
A few days after the adoption of the law on the democratization of sport, their recommendations to develop sports practices at work are a new step in terms of public health policy to promote active behavior and fight against sedentary lifestyle and its consequences.
For the term “corporate sport” hitherto established, they first suggest substituting that of “APS in the workplace” to refer to an offer “which aims for health and well-being without necessarily recalling the dimension of competition between employees, and therefore without expectation of induced performance”and extend to administrations, “not always proactive on the issue”.
Benefits for employers too
A factor of well-being and health for employees, the practice of APS in the workplace is also beneficial for their employers and public expenditure, details the report, referring to a 2015 study carried out in particular by the Medef. According to this, absenteeism (which costs 60 billion euros each year and corresponds to 17.2 days of absence per employee) is thus reduced by 5.6%, health expenditure by more than 300 euros per year per person, and staff turnover of 3.2%. And productivity jumped from 6% to 9%. Not to mention the image issue. “In a competitive context where the quality of life at work becomes a criterion of choice for employees who want to apply, the practice of an APS in a company is a real added value, all the more if it is associated with a culture of business”, write Aude Amadou and Maud Petit.
The two deputies, who visited several devices, cite in particular the example of Poissy (Yvelines), where the 850 staff of the town hall can, since 2017, practice two hours of activity (Nordic walking, badminton, relaxation, etc.) per week on their working time. Results: a reduction in stress at work, an improvement in the social climate and the physical condition of employees, with a reduction of 750 days/year in absenteeism, or 100,000 euros in savings for the community.
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