Health Ministry's Initiative: Gyms at the Workplace

The Health Ministry is launching a program to promote employees' health in Israel: encouraging employers to install fitness facilities and showers for those who train at work, and to allocate time for fitness during working hours.

The goal of the program is to improve employees' health. "In this way," says the Health Ministry, "morbidity and mortality rates will decline, which also causes significant economic damage to employers."

As part of the program, the ministry recommends employers build infrastructures that include facilities to encourage physical activity, such as bike parking racks, placing exercise bikes on each floor, building showers at the workplace to encourage employees to arrive by foot or by bicycle, establishing gyms, basketball facilities, and standing or walking treadmill workstations.

The workplace fitness project was planned by the Health Ministry together with the Civil Service Commission—the body responsible in Israel for employees' employment conditions. In addition to the fitness project, the two bodies are also working together on encouraging healthy nutrition, smoking cessation workshops, and routine medical examinations that include blood pressure measurements.

To encourage employers to participate in the project, the Health Ministry plans to create a program in collaboration with the Tax Authority, which will recognize employers' investments in health promotion as a tax-deductible expense.

Dr. Yiftach Hatzroni, an expert in orthopedic surgery and director of the Sports Injury Unit at Meir Medical Center, praised the project. In a conversation with ynet, Dr. Hatzroni stated, "There's nothing like physical activity to reduce illness, extend life expectancy, and improve its quality. We spend long hours sitting each day, squeezing in intense gym workouts once every few days, thus increasing the risk of injury."

"We know today that there is a huge advantage in daily exercise of reasonable intensity," Dr. Hatzroni explained. "Walking, cycling, taking the stairs instead of the elevator—all these are simple means to maintain health. There is no doubt that workplaces that allow employees to stay fit will benefit not only employee satisfaction and health but also significant economic savings. It's an effort worth investing in."