Health Handouts : Workplace Physical Activity Programs: Employee Interest Survey

To succeed in encouraging physical exercise during the workday, you must discover what workers need and want. They are the people whose behavior you are trying to impact, so it’s critical to understand their needs and gain their backing.

The Employee Interest Survey

Ask workers questions that allow you to assess such key characteristics as age, sex, social relationships, family responsibilities and current physical exercise participation.

It’s important to know this information so that your physical exercise initiative meets employees’ needs. Staff Members will not take part in something they’re not interested in.

Ask employees what they want, and then implement changes that fit with their needs and working conditions. For example, employees may not wish to do activities that make them sweat, because they do not want to shower at work.

Ask employees what the corporation might do to make it easier for them to be more physically active during the workday. If there’s a common behavior throughout your organization, a single change might affect much people.

By way of example, suppose a big group shows interest in biking to work. They may want to shower and change after their commute. You might give priority to installing workplace showers and changing facilities. Secure bike storage might be valuable as well.

If you’re starting a program that requires going outside, start in the spring. By the time winter arrives, participation is already a habit.

Involving workers is key to increasing physical exercise participation rates. People are more willing to take part in and support physical exercise drives when they are involved in decision making.

The following tips will help you produce your own employee interest survey:

• Keep it short (no longer than 10 minutes to complete).
• Make sure workers know why you are doing the survey.
• Rather than using all open-ended questions, which can be long and tough to analyze, ask people to choose from a drop-down list of possible responses.
• Ask for comments and recommendations in one open-ended question at the end.
• Make it confidential and anonymous. Do not request information that may identify a person.
• If you’re including a list of potential programs or environmental changes, be sure your workplace has the facilities and resources to offer them.