Education Today Education Today Magazine
Active Wellbeing Week
Monday 2 July – Friday 6 July 2018
A well-rounded health and wellbeing policy should aim to encourage active lifestyles; assist employees to strike a healthy work‑life balance; support people to achieve their personal goals; provide networking and teambuilding opportunities; and improve workplace morale and performance.
According to the Work Foundation, each year British workers have 15 million days off* due to stress, depression and anxiety, costing an estimated £70 billion each year. However, musculoskeletal health is also one of the major conditions affecting British workers with 23% of all lost days caused by back, neck and muscle pain.
Regular physical activity has been proven to reduce the risk of contracting some illnesses, like heart disease and type 2 diabetes. We now know that taking part in physical activity also helps to improve our general wellbeing. The NHS guidelines recommend that adults between 19 and 64 years of age should do at least 150 minutes of moderate aerobic exercise every week, like brisk walking or cycling.
To improve the health and encourage more active lifestyle choices for employees in the public sector, CSSC Sports & Leisure has collaborated with CS Employee Policy (CSEP) to launch a nationwide Active Wellbeing Week which will take place between Monday 2 July and Friday 6 July 2018.
Active Wellbeing Week includes a series of initiatives designed specifically to help the thousands of public sector employees across the UK to be more active and affect positive changes in their physical and mental wellbeing.
We’re encouraging all public sector employees to take part in a nationwide make a pledge campaign, where individuals can make personal pledges on how they intend to be more active. There are loads of fantastic prizes to win including spa days, pamper packs and a £2,500 holiday voucher.
For fun and inspiring ways to get your colleagues involved, there are plenty of ideas online at activewellbeing.me.uk where you’ll find suggestions for competitive tasks like step count or rowing challenges, or simple ideas to incorporate movement in your day like lunchtime walks or no-chair policies for meetings.
Get involved
There are a few ways that individuals, team leaders and management can get involved and inspire others during Active Wellbeing Week.
- Make a pledge about how you intend to get more active
- Download posters and other support material to help drum up support
- Share your involvement in Active Wellbeing Week on social media, using the hashtag #ActiveWellbeingWeek
For full details and to make a pledge, visit activewellbeing.me.uk.
For more information on CSSC or to join, visit cssc.co.uk
