Recommendations for Workplaces

Healthy from the Start Resources for Shiftworkers

Whilst shiftworkers can do a lot to prioritise their physical activity, workplaces have a responsibility to create environments that are supportive of health and wellbeing. Providing equipment on site and having a workplace culture that encourages physical activity are great places to start. Promoting an active workforce not only benefits employee health and wellbeing, but will improve absenteeism, safety, and productivity for organisations.

Workplaces will see significant benefits from encouraging employees to participate in physical activity. Whilst shiftworkers are ultimately responsible for their own physical activity, support from the workplace can go a long way in encouraging and sustaining physical activity over time (53). Some strategies that workplaces could implement include: 

  • Giving shiftworkers the means and the opportunity to exercise on shift can remove some of the barriers for them. Equipment such as skipping ropes, hula hoops, medicine balls, resistance bands, and free weights are all small and low-cost pieces of equipment that are easy to use and facilitate a variety of exercises.

  • Encouraging a workplace culture that views physical activity as a positive element of daily life can foster a sense of shared purpose around participating in exercise.

    There are small adjustments that workplaces can make to encourage shiftworkers to be more active, particularly for those environments where their roles are desk-based. Consider implementing standing desks, walking meetings, or 10-minute activity breaks. This has the added benefit of boosting alertness and combatting fatigue during shifts.

  • A sense of community around activity can increase enjoyment and foster accountability.

    Shiftworkers spend longer hours at work than the general population, and using this as an opportunity to incentivise physical activity could be beneficial. Voluntary workplace challenges are a great way to make activity engaging and create a shared goal amongst shiftworkers.

    Some examples include daily step challenges, or monthly activity targets, but you can search ‘workplace exercise challenge’ online to find a huge range of options.

  • Certain industries or workplaces are not able to incorporate physical activity into rostered shift time for operational or safety reasons.

    In such instances, you can encourage shiftworkers to maintain regular physical activity by subsidising membership fees for gyms or workout classes, or by providing them with monetary contributions toward fitness equipment.