Sport in the workplace still far from being generalized, according to a survey

(AFP) – Indulging in a physical or sporting activity at the workplace remains uncommon in France: only 13% of business leaders have taken measures to this effect, according to a survey published Friday by the Medef and the Toluna-Harris Interactive Institute.

And only 11% of the 400 managers of private companies with 10 or more employees surveyed plan to set up dedicated facilities, while 76% do not plan to do so in the future.

Among the employees, 3,000 of whom were interviewed for the survey, a quarter said they were aware of the establishment of facilities encouraging the practice of sport within their company, a proportion which climbs to 37% among managers but is only 17% among manual workers.

“We are campaigning very hard so that we can move more at our workplace”, because “today companies are not mobilizing to fight against the sedentary lifestyle of their employees”, explained to AFP Marie Barsacq, director impact and legacy of the organizing committee of the Paris 2024 Olympic Games.

If 92% of managers and 93% of employees consider that it is “a good thing” or “a very good thing” that the company “is involved in promoting the practice of a physical or sporting activity”, 60% leaders believe that “it is not the role of companies to encourage” such a practice.

“Employees do not necessarily expect from their business manager facilities to play sports”, notes for its part the Medef.

For the employers’ organization, however, the survey reveals “a certain correlation between the expectations of employees and the actions of business leaders”.

In the eyes of leaders, the prescribers of physical activity who have the greatest legitimacy are health professionals, at 95%, closely followed by schools and sports associations, at 94%, according to the survey.

Among the reasons that make sports in the company dissuasive for employees, the one most frequently cited is for 69% of them the fact of being around people they do not want to see outside of work, in front of the reducing the break and rest time they have in their day, invoked by 66% of respondents.

Among the arguments in favor of sport in the workplace, keeping in shape and health are cited by 87% of employees, while 83% say that physical activity allows them or would allow them to decompress and “think about something else” during their working day.