Scotland’s national walking charity is boosting employee health and wellbeing with its new initiative for employers.
Backed by the Scottish Government, Paths for All is working with employers of all sizes across the country to get staff more active, through walking.
From commuting to work on foot, to taking a break from the desk for a lunchtime walk, or going on a walking meeting, walking can be easily incorporated into the average working day.
Research shows that employees who are more active during their working day are more productive, take fewer sick days, and are more focused, so walking is not just good for health, it’s good for business.
In autumn 2018, Paths for All launched an accreditation scheme for Scottish employers which recognises their commitment towards supporting their workforce to become more active. The Walk at Work Award gives workplaces the knowledge they need to create a walking culture in their organisation, helps employers provide the right facilities for employees to walk to work, and encourages staff to run initiatives to get employees walking.
Wills Bros, a civil engineering company based in Motherwell, were one of the first workplaces to get involved. Kieran Doona, Health and Safety Manager said:
“There was a real appetite amongst our staff at the beginning of 2019 to do more for their health and wellbeing, and walking was an obvious choice as it’s so accessible.
“We came across the Walk at Work Award and it was a perfect fit. We read through the participation criteria which was really simple and well explained, and we identified areas we could champion within our own workplace.
“The advice from Paths for All was really helpful in getting us set-up, and the registration form only took a couple of minutes to fill out.”
Wills Bros recognised the need to get their workplace moving, knowing that the average working aged adult sits for 9.5 hours a day, with much of this being in the workplace. Spending long periods of time sitting have been linked with higher rates of cardiovascular disease, diabetes and poor mental health; promoting active workplaces can help reverse this trend.
Kieran added: “The modern office environment is highly reliant on sitting at your desk all day staring at a screen with little reason to walk around apart from taking a coffee or bathroom break or getting something from the printer.
“We spend huge amount of our time at work and leading a largely sedentary lifestyle at a desk limits the opportunity for physical activity. Even taking a short walk is known to reduce cholesterol and blood pressure, reduce stress, and improves mood. Fitting in a walk during the working day provides a much-needed opportunity to clear your head and focus on something besides work, computer screens, social media, and mobile phones.”
Walking more at work is also linked to positive mental health. Recent findings from UK workplaces reveal that half of all employees experience poor mental health at work, including stress, anxiety and depression. Regular walking can reduce the effects of poor mental health, particularly walking in greenspace.
Ian Findlay CBE, Paths for All’s Chief Officer, has urged all Scottish workplaces to take not only their employees’ health seriously, but the environments too.
“In our current state of climate emergency, we’re offering Scottish employers an opportunity to take action against rising emissions. Encouraging a walking culture within a workplace could significantly reduce your organisation’s carbon footprint.
“From helping staff plan safe and easy walking routes to work or to and from local public transport, to walking challenges and incentive schemes – our Walk at Work Award has been proudly presented to over 20 Scottish organisations already.
“I would encourage every employer to consider signing up to our award and begin taking steps to improve employee health, whilst benefitting the environment.”
If you are interested in helping Scotland lead the way in promoting active, healthy and green workplaces, visit
www.pathsforall.org.uk/walkatworkaward to find out more.
