
17 Jul #233 – Integrity Idea 056: Fortify Fitness
Integrity Ideas are practical actions toward implementing a bigger WHY for the organization. We believe some are critical (and necessary) steps in the RENEW/RE-ALIGN/RE-IMAGINE/RESTORE process. Others are just ideas to be considered if they feel like a good fit based on what leaders prayerfully discern is best for stewarding the organization toward its WHY.
“Fortify Fitness” is about employee benefits, and we believe employee benefits usually fall into the “if its a good fit” category.
Integrity Ideas are specific actions a leader can consider during the Re-Align step of Integriosity®–actions that will begin to Re-Align the organization with Biblical beliefs, principles and priorities. You can find more Integrity Ideas at Integrous | Integrity Ideas (integriosity.com)
INTEGRITY IDEA: Fortify Fitness
In keeping with the wellness theme in our last post on “Nurture Nutrition”, “Fortify Fitness” is about adopting practices and benefits that are specifically designed to encourage and support the physical fitness of employees.
Not surprisingly, the Biblical and business rationale for “Fortify Fitness” is very similar to what we described for “Nurture Nutrition”. The biggest difference in in the implementation. For those who read our post on “Nurture Nutrition”, you may want to skip straight to “Implementation” below.
“Fortify Fitness” recognizes that an organization pursuing faithful integrity through business a better way toward Biblical flourishing should care about the physical fitness of its employees, because physical wellness is a key component of human flourishing.
Physical Fitness and Flourishing. From a scientific standpoint, “Physical and Mental Health” is one of the six key domains identified and measured by the Harvard Program on Human Flourishing in their human flourishing index.
From a Biblical perspective, we know that the body is a temple of God.
Or do you not know that your body is a temple of the Holy Spirit within you, whom you have from God? You are not your own, for you were bought with a price. So glorify God in your body. (1 Corinthians 6:19-20)
In his book Fit After 40: 3 Keys to Looking Good & Feeling Great, Coach Don Nava describes physical fitness as one of the key aspects of the abundant life Jesus talked about in John 10:10:
I came that they may have life and have it abundantly.
As a proponent of the “Totally Fit Life”, Nava describes what he believes is captured by “abundance”:
Abundance refers to an overflowing amount of everything that is beneficial to life—health, vitality, energy, strength, purpose, ministry effectiveness, career success, fulfillment, finances, friendships, loving family relationships, intellectual growth, and emotional well-being. Not only does abundance refer to an overflowing quantity of these good things—and many other good things—but also to having these things in balance. The Jewish understanding of wholeness was that all aspects of life are both present and balanced.
Like poor nutrition covered in our last post, poor physical fitness can lead to health complications that impact all aspects of a person’s life, including their quality-of-life outside work, their need for medical treatment and their work productivity.
In a 1960, Sports Illustrated article titled “The Soft American“, then President-Elect John F. Kennedy wrote:
Physical fitness is not only one of the most important keys to a healthy body; it is the basis of dynamic and creative intellectual activity. . . . [I]ntelligence and skill can only function at the peak of their capacity when the body is healthy and strong. . . . In this sense, physical fitness is the basis of all the activities of our society
Fortifying Fitness. We live in a broken world–the U.S. Center for Disease Control (the “CDC”) estimates that 42% of Americans live with obesity (up from 30.5% in 2000)–58% of them have high blood pressure and 23% have diabetes.
We think it is safe to assume that every organization with more than a few employees has employees impacted either personally or through family members with the physical fitness crisis in the United States. That means most faithful leaders have the opportunity to care for employees and their families and reinforce the organization’s commitment to living out the commandment to love your neighbor by implementing “Fortify Fitness” practices and benefits.
In prior posts, we have shared the story of Bandwidth.com, a telecommunications provider that went public in 2017. It was co-founded by David Morken and Henry Kaestner.
Kaestner has been very open about the role that his and Morken’s faith played in how they led Bandwidth. In fact, he made available online the notes from a talk he has given numerous times called “The Business Lessons that God has taught us at Bandwidth.com”. In it, Kaestner explains the following about the Bandwidth values and culture (emphasis added):
David and I wanted to see the same core values drive the company that drove our
life. For us that means that we focus on Faith, Family, Work, and Fitness…in that
order. We believe that if we balance all 4 of them well and in that order that we’ll be
successful.
Bandwidth stands behind its core value of “fitness” by providing 90-minute “workout lunches” as well as a fitness centers and free gym memberships for its employees. In 2023, it was awarded a “Best Places to Work” award.
We believe “Fortify Fitness” is not only caring stewardship–it is also wise stewardship. A wellness white paper by Storehouse Wellness says that studies of corporate wellness programs “consistently show positive ROI ranging from $1.50 to $3.00, driven by reduced medical costs, absenteeism rates, and improved productivity.”
In a publication on controlling health care costs, the CDC stated:
A systematic review of 56 published studies of worksite health programs showed that well-implemented workplace health programs can lead to 25% savings each on absenteeism, health care costs, and workers’ compensation and disability management claims costs.
“Fortify Fitness” is one way to lead faithfully by curating and reinforcing a caring and compassionate organizational culture that aligns with Biblical beliefs, principles and priorities, prioritizing the flourishing of people as an “end” and putting profit in its proper place as a necessary means to that end.
CONTINUUM: Practices
The Integriosity model organizes “heart change” along six Covert-Overt Continuums. There is nothing magic about these categories, but we believe they are helpful in thinking about practical execution of a Re-Imagined Purpose, Re-Imagined Values and a Re-Imagined Culture. The Continuums are Prayer, Proclamation, Policies, Practices, Products, People.
Each Continuum represents an area in which leaders can begin to think about, plan and institute Re-Alignment changes to the heart of the organization.
“Fortify Fitness” is on the Practices Continuum. It involves practices the organization can adopt to affirm its commitment to Biblical flourishing and the Biblical principles of Imago Dei and love your neighbor, to reflect and reinforce its purpose and values, to care for its employees, and to be wise stewards of the organization.
COVERT-OVERT RATING: Highly Covert
The Integriosity model breaks the Covert-Overt Continuums into six gradations–from Highly Covert to Highly Overt–that we believe are helpful in beginning to pray and think about what is most appropriate for an organization at a particular moment in time.
Most Integrity Ideas will have one place on the scale. Some can vary depending on how they are implemented. “Fortify Fitness” is Highly Covert (an action that would be taken by a secular company). Even secular businesses should care about the health of their employees, if only from the Profit as Purpose “bottom-line” perspective of lower healthcare costs, less sick-time and higher productivity as detailed in the wellness white paper by Storehouse Wellness.
“Fortify Fitness” can also be Overt (An overtly faith-based action known generally within the organization) if the leaders of the organization choose to explain its importance in terms of the Biblical significance of treating people with dignity as creations in the image of God, loving your neighbor, and caring for your body as a temple of the Holy Spirit.
STAKEHOLDERS SERVED: Employees
When we categorize faith-based actions, we also consider the stakeholders principally impacted by the action: Employees, Customers/Clients, Owners, Suppliers/Vendors, Community and Kingdom.
“Fortify Fitness” principally serves Employees by caring for their well-being. It also benefits Owners through wise stewardship and the Community through healthier members.
Intelligence and skill can only function at the peak of their capacity when the body is healthy and strong. (John F. Kennedy)
IMPLEMENTATION
Like “Nurture Nutrition”, “Fortify Fitness” isn’t difficult to justify in concept. Every faithful leader seeking to lead with faithful integrity through business a better way toward Biblical flourishing should want to help those employees God has given them to steward to flourish more fully–experience more of the abundant life referenced in Scripture–by being more physically fit. But how?
We believe options for implementing “Fortify Fitness” can be broken down into three basic categories–education about fitness, providing time for fitness activities, and providing access to tools for fitness. What is the right fit for an organization will depend on many factors, such as the number of employees, the nature of the work, and the realistic budget for “Fortify Fitness”.
Like with all Integrity Ideas, implementation should only be done after prayerful discernment by faithful leaders. Here are a few examples and ideas for faithful leaders considering implementing “Fortify Fitness”.
Education.
Educating employees about the importance of physical fitness could come in many forms, many of which could be combined with materials implementing “Nurture Nutrition”. For example:
• Materials about fitness, the benefits of good fitness and the health impacts of poor fitness. This could be materials such as written materials (e.g., books, brochures, recipes, eating plans), intranet resources, or a periodic newsletter
• A lunch seminar on fitness by a health professional at which healthy food is served.
• Information tables hosted periodically by educational vendors or a dedicated health fair.
For an organization seeking to address wellness holistically, one option to explore is Storehouse Wellness. They have developed a Christ-Centered comprehensive wellness solution for organizations that encompasses nourishment, physical fitness, mental awareness, and financial health.
Time
With busy family and work schedules, many people probably don’t devote time (or enough time) to physical fitness because it is difficult to find the time. For people with children, mornings can be filled with getting them to school and evenings with after-school activities, dinner and homework.
Studies reportedly have found that 30 minutes of exercise improves a person’s time-management skills by 72%.
One way to help employees find time is to carve out time during the workday. That is what Bandwidth.com did with its 90-minute “workout lunches” mentioned above. It describes them as a way “to help Bandmates achieve their wellness goals by playing sports together, going to the gym or just taking a walk.”
Clif Bar & Company, the energy-bar company, got a lot of attention and press several years ago for providing employees with 2.5 hours per week of paid time to exercise.
In a publication titled “Opportunities for Employers to Support Physical Activity Through Policy”, the U.S. Center for Disease Control suggests other ways that employers can promote and support physical activity during the day, including:
• Permitting and encouraging short activity breaks during the day for sedentary workers to get up and move around.
• Organizing and encouraging attendance at “stretch breaks” for manual laborers at the beginning of shifts.
• Providing “flex-time” so that employees can work exercise into a busy day by shifting their work hours.
• Organizing “booster breaks” where employees can gather for 10-15 minutes each day to perform some form of physical activity as a group.
• Promoting “walking meetings”.
The CDC also published a resource guide with ideas on physical activity breaks for the workplace.
Tools
The most direct way to support and encourage physical fitness is to provide employees with tools and opportunities for exercise. This is also potentially the most expensive way to implement “Fortify Fitness”. Here are some ideas for faithful leaders to prayerfully consider:
• Provide fitness facilities at work. This could be indoor facilities such as a fitness room with equipment or outdoor facilities such as a basketball court, pickleball court or walking path.
• Bring in a fitness trainer to lead employees in group fitness sessions at work.
• Subsidize or cover the cost of membership in a fitness facility.
• Subsidize or cover the cost of an online fitness app.
• Provide employees with a “wellness stipend” (e.g., monthly, quarterly or annually) to spend on fitness memberships, equipment or programs, allowing them the flexibility to tailor fitness initiatives to their preferences.
• Cover the cost of a standing desk for employees who would like one.
• Provide the services of an on-site trainer or subsidize the cost of group or private fitness training.
• Sponsor organization teams in local adult recreational leagues.
• Organize a fitness challenge with teams competing (e.g., a 10,000-step/day challenge or the “Team of 3” challenge suggested in the book Fit After 40).
• Organize group fitness activities such as a walking group.
We believe faithful leaders implementing some form of “Fortify Fitness”–whether education, time or tools–should give prayerful, careful and serious consideration to taking the next step and explaining the Biblical motivation for these benefits, both from the perspective of the organization and the perspective of the employees.
For the organization, it is part of pursuing faithful integrity through business a better way toward Biblical flourishing. It is recognizing Imago Dei, living out the commandment to love your neighbor, reinforcing an organizational culture that prioritizes the flourishing of its people, and wise stewardship of the organization and its people.
From an employee perspective, it is about recognizing that each person is a creation in the image of a loving God with a body that is a gift to be stewarded and a temple to be honored.
PERSONAL NOTE (from PM): It is encouraging to hear and read about the ways that businesses are helping employees stay (or get) more physically fit (one of our son’s roommates works for a company that gives their employees $10,000/year wellness stipend–their apartment is filled with wellness equipment and gadgets!). When I was practicing law at a large firm on Wall Street, fitness consisted of a reduced-price gym membership and firm teams that participated in a surprising number of recreational leagues (e.g., volleyball, basketball, touch football, softball). People took these teams very seriously and partners usually tried their best to help associates get out for games. The firm paid for equipment, uniforms and dinner (usually pizza and beer) after games–even if we lost. Sometimes work required going back to the office, but it was a wonderful way to build camaraderie and get much-needed exercise (and I learned the hard way that an injury suffered on a firm team was a work-related injury that qualified for workers compensation).
Fitness benefits often feel like just a way to make people happy, compete for employees, or implement Profit as Purpose. I have found the Bandwidth.com example so inspiring because it recognized “fitness” as a core value from a faith perspective. It was a value to which the founders were personally committed. Faith provides the transcendent “anchor” to give things like “wellness” a WHY tied to the flourishing of the employee rather than just the “flourishing” of the organization’s bottom-line.
ESSENCE: Integrity Ideas are specific practical actions a faithful leader can consider in leading faithfully through business a better way.
INTEGRITY IDEA: Fortify Fitness
COVERT-OVERT CONTINUUM (six Continuums for action): Practices
COVERT-OVERT RATING (several levels from Highly Covert to Highly Overt): Highly Covert
STAKEHOLDERS SERVED: Employees
“Fortify Fitness” is about adopting practices and benefits that are specifically designed to encourage and support the physical fitness of employees. It recognizes that an organization pursuing faithful integrity through business a better way toward Biblical flourishing should care about the physical fitness of its employees, because physical wellness is a key component of human flourishing. Like poor nutrition covered in our last post, poor physical fitness can lead to health complications that impact all aspects of a person’s life, including their quality-of-life outside work, their need for medical treatment and their work productivity. Whether through education or facilitating exercise in more direct ways like providing time or tools, “Fortify Fitness” is also wise stewardship and one way to lead faithfully by curating and reinforcing a caring and compassionate organizational culture that aligns with Biblical beliefs, principles and priorities, wanting employees to flourish because you want to love them as “neighbors” and not just because having “well” employees improves the bottom-line.
Copyright © 2024 Integrous LLC. Integriosity is a registered Service Mark of Integrous LLC.
Photo credit: Original image by Elena Leya on Unsplash
(photo cropped)
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