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Good health and wellbeing allows employees to flourish and thrive. Wellness boosts our ability to contribute at work, improves our productivity and drives business growth. For these reasons, physical and mental health continues to be high on the workplace wellbeing agenda. Access to professional HR expertise can be a precious resource for small businesses that want to look after their employees. Take a look at our Outsourced HR services.
In this article, we explain why a fit and healthy team is important for North West SMEs. We have tips on talking to your team about physical wellbeing, ways to encourage employees to be more active, and the actions to prioritise to support this.
Physical health in the workplace: the current landscape
More people are working remotely than ever before. In June 2025, ONS data showed that 28% of UK working adults were working solely from home, while the same proportion were taking a more hybrid approach, splitting their time between home and office. When the research was conducted, workers aged between 30-49 years old were found to be more likely to have a hybrid working pattern.
Over recent years, business leaders have been questioning whether isolated homeworking is detrimental to our long-term physical wellbeing. With no need to travel to work, we are moving less. Sport England data reveals that one in four people do fewer than 30 minutes of physical activity per week. This equates to 11.8million people in the UK. In the past, employees may have visited the gym or an exercise class on their way home from work. Now homeworkers may feel less motivated to leave their cosy abode, especially on a cold, dark evening.
The rise in flexible and hybrid working has blurred the boundaries between work and home life. Employees may find it difficult to leave their work behind at the end of the day when they don’t physically leave their workplace. Feelings of guilt can lead to longer work hours, reducing the opportunity for physical movement.
Gallup’s State of the Global Workplace Report 2026 highlights 46% of UK employees experience daily stress, which may show up as physical ailments such as tense, aching muscles and musculoskeletal problems. Poor working practices can also lead to neck and back pain, including:
Poor workstation set up (working from the sofa)
Lack of supportive equipment (ergonomic chairs, foot rests)
Not taking regular breaks.
In 2022/23, an average of 13.9 working days were lost for every case of work-related musculoskeletal disorder, and more than half a million British workers believe their symptoms were caused or aggravated by work.
Why is a fit and healthy team crucial for SMEs?
We know that physical exercise benefits body and mind. Exercise has a positive impact on our mood, reasoning, memory, organisational skills, productivity, and focus.
In terms of business benefits, having a healthy team:
Reduces sickness absence and related costs
Increases productivity and performance
Enhances ability to attract top talent
Increases employee retention rates
Boosts morale and engagement.
How to talk to your team about physical wellbeing
Talking about health and wellbeing is never an easy conversation. Thankfully, it is becoming more common in UK workplaces. Companies are doing more to promote discussion around physical health and increase their support for employees.
During regular check-ins with your team, ask after their general health and wellbeing. Physical health issues are often invisible, which can heighten anxiety about sharing. People may think you won’t believe them. Give the employee time and space to explain how they are feeling and how their symptoms are affecting their ability to be their best at work. Trust needs to exist between manager and employee for this to happen.
Here are some tips and suggestions to aid your discussions:
Suggest where equipment and reasonable adjustments may help improve the work environment
Encourage regular breaks and exercise, allowing flexible working if this helps.
Explain how doing something different can aid problem-solving and help us to refocus.
Encourage the employee to focus on output and not on number of hours worked.
Explain the importance of regular breaks away from screens
Be clear they’re not expected to be at their desk all the time.
Encourage them to take their full entitlement of annual leave and step away from the demands of work.
Inform employees of their employment rights and the support they are entitled to.
Not all physical health conditions are easy to manage. Take a look at this case study about managing an employee diagnosed with a serious health condition.
There’s a lot you can do to help your employees get active and return to full health. Acknowledging their challenges and showing you are there to help support them will go a long way. If you feel stuck managing workplace challenges, book a no-obligation chat with our expert team.
What makes a healthy organisation?
A healthy business is a place where it’s a pleasure to come into work each day. Where employees are greeted with a genuine warm welcome, people treat one another with respect and are empowered to do their best. A healthy organisation consistently supports employee health and wellbeing in a variety of ways, not just through a few token gestures.
Leadership and management
Emotionally intelligent leaders are good communicators and listeners who are open to feedback. They create a safe environment to work in, empower people to speak up, and inspire their team, valuing both their work and presence. They embody the values and behaviours expected at work, setting an example for their team. Emotionally intelligent leaders can spot when someone or something is not quite right, identifying potential employee wellbeing issues before they impact performance.
Learning and development
Healthy workplaces are committed to developing their employees. Providing opportunities for learning, training, upskilling, and personal growth can boost our individual wellbeing. When people grow and learn new things it’s generally a positive experience. Investing in personal development makes employees feel valued, engaged and more likely to want to remain with their employer. It can also be a positive draw for recruitment.
Browse our accessible e-learning catalogue of CPD certified courses, including a range of health and wellbeing focused content suitable for all levels.
Trust, teamwork and collaboration
Healthy organisations are good at communicating and sharing ideas. Collaboration is commonplace in teams and cross-working groups. This creates a level of trust and understanding between employees and within teams and departments that keeps people engaged and enhances productivity.
Culture
All the elements highlighted above come together to create a healthy organisational culture. A culture that’s based on a strong set of core values that everyone understands and displays at work - every day.
When you have a healthy culture people can come and go from the organisation and it will still be successful, because everyone knows exactly what’s expected of them. A healthy culture is stronger than any individual.
How can SMEs encourage physical activity at work?
The shift towards flexible working means keeping physically active is more of a challenge. Working from home often results in moving less. Employers must set the standards and managers lead by example to highlight the importance of taking a break from work and making positive lifestyle choices. Supporting your people to get moving can boost engagement and motivation, and reduce sickness absence rates.
Wellbeing programmes
Employee benefits can be linked to improving physical health. From discounted gym memberships and fitness classes to cycle-to-work schemes, free eye-tests, and subsidising treatments with wellbeing providers, such as massage and reflexology.
Flex to Fit
Flex to Fit is all about investing in your employees to encourage them to get active. The business gives each employee a fixed annual allowance to use for health or fitness activity, or get into a new hobby. They might spend it on taking guitar lessons or buying a new pair of trainers to get started at the gym. Each employee has to apply for the money and make a pledge on how they will use it. This acts as a motivational tool to keep them committed and inspired.
Health Champions
An increasing trend is to appoint employees as Health Champions to lead on physical activities and encourage colleagues to make healthy lifestyle choices. Who in your team would suit this kind of role?
10 ways to get your team moving
Stand-up desks
Standing desks improve circulation and posture. Fit them in the workplace and offer them to homeworkers to give colleagues a choice in how they work.
Stand-up or walking meetings
Hold meetings and briefings standing up to encourage movement or take them outside for a walk and talk in the fresh air.
Hydration challenge
Water helps our brains and bodies to function correctly so we can be at our best at work. Create a bit of friendly rivalry and see which team can consume the most water. The act of getting up and down to fill up your bottle at the water cooler or tap will also increase step count.
Step challenge
Most people have health trackers on their phones or watches these days. A step challenge could involve walking, running, or skipping. If you want to take it a one step further and bring in a community aspect, how about climbing a mountain to fundraise for charity or taking part in a local litter pick. As with any physical activity, take care to consider accessibility and inclusivity in your offer.
Yoga / stretching sessions
Our bodies were made to move! If you have space, bring in a yoga or Pilates teacher to run classes and show people stretches they can do at or around their desk. Consider offering an online option for hybrid and homeworkers.
Free fruit
Sign up to a subscription service for a regular delivery of fresh fruit is a nutritious reminder to eat your five-a-day.
Aromatherapy scents
Fragrances have the power to influence our mood and promote productivity. For example, peppermint is said to stimulate the mind, citrus smells can energise, while lavender is used for its calming effects. Think about how you might use scent for positive impact.
Get outdoors
A simple suggestion, but often a hard habit to break after a lifetime of eating at your desk! Encourage colleagues to walk around the block at lunch, or take meetings outside. Maybe this could also form part of a wider team challenge?
Celebrate small achievements
Recognise and reward the little achievements, whether it’s buying someone a cup of coffee for acing a project, sending a thank-you card for going beyond, or recognising an act of kindness at a team meeting. Every show of appreciation acts as a mood booster.
Mindful moments
Encourage positivity by keeping a gratitude diary. Do this as a team to reflect on the good times, the things that made you all laugh or made a difference to others.
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