What Are the Advantages of Having a Corporate Office Gym?
Employers benefit from a healthy and fit workforce. Although employees may be individually motivated to lose weight and maintain physical fitness on their own, employers can offer incentives to encourage their workers to do so. One common method is to open an onsite fitness center. A corporate office gym offers advantages for employees, and their use of the facility benefits the employer.
Lower Premiums
When employees exercise regularly, it improves their overall health. Regular exercise can reduce weight, lower blood pressure and reduce symptoms of chronic illness. This can result in lower health-care costs, which lowers the total cost of a company's health insurance premiums.
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Employees who work out on a regular basis have better overall health, including greater resistance to illness. According to a report in the "Kansas City Business Journal," use of an onsite fitness center can lead to employees having fewer colds 1. This may reduce the total number of employee sick days.
Cheaper Than Gym Memberships
Some companies offer an employee benefit that pays for an annual membership at an offsite public gym or health club. According to research conducted by the University of California at Berkeley, people who pay for annual gym memberships are significantly less likely to maintain a long-term exercise habit 2. Paying for employee gym memberships may not be cost-effective.
Convenience
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The presence of an onsite office gym provides a convenience that makes it more likely that employees will exercise. It can be difficult to make time to go to a separate facility to work out before or after a long day on the job. An opportunity to work out at your place of employment makes it easier to fit exercise into your busy schedule.
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References
- Kansas City Business Journal: On-site Fitness Centers Create Healthy Employees
- University of California at Berkeley: Economics: Paying Not to Go to the Gym
- Miller, Stephen, CEBS. Society for Human Resource Management. Premium Reimbursement for Public Exchanges Not Permitted, DOL Confirms. November 12, 2014.
- Congress.gov. H.R.34 - 21st Century Cures Act. Published December 2016
- Federal Register. Health reimbursement arrangements and other account-based group health plans. Published June 20, 2019.
- National Conference of State Legislatures. Small and Large Business Health Insurance: State & Federal Roles. Updated September 12, 2018.
- Transamerica Center for Health Studies. Survey: Companies navigate the health coverage mandate. Published December 2015.
- National Federation of Independent Business. Small Business Problems and Priorities. Published August 2016.
- Kaiser Family Foundation. Percent of Private Sector Establishments That Offer Health Insurance to Employees, by Firm Size. 2018.
- Axene Health Partners. Level Funding: An Alternative to the ACA for Small Groups.
- Internal Revenue Service. Questions and Answers on the Premium Tax Credit. Updated January 13, 2020.
- Internal Revenue Service. Notice 2015-17. Guidance on the Application of Code § 4980D to Certain Types of Health Coverage Reimbursement Arrangements. February 18, 2015.
- Internal Revenue Service. Revenue Procedure 2019-44.
- Internal Revenue Service. Premium Tax Credit (PTC). Published November 2019.
- Internal Revenue Service. Employer Shared Responsibility Provisions. Updated February 18, 2020.
- The White House. Presidential executive order promoting healthcare choice and competition across the United States. October 2017.
- Federal Register. Health Reimbursement Arrangements and Other Account-Based Group Health Plans. Updated October 29, 2018.
Writer Bio
Holly Case has written professionally since 2000. She is a former contributing editor for "ePregnancy" magazine and a current editor for a natural food magazine. She has extensive experience writing about nutrition, pregnancy, infertility, alternative medicine, children's health and women's health issues. Case holds a Bachelor of Arts in sociology and professional writing from Saginaw Valley State University.