Two-thirds of adults consider work to be the main cause of stress in their lives. In fact, Generation Z is experiencing poor mental health even before entering the workplace. This can have a knock-on effect that restricts creativity and their ability to perform at their best.

But you can do something about it. The mind can’t work at an optimal level without the body. Let’s talk about how integrating sports into your workplace can improve the mental health of your teams.

Please note, while sports and regular movement can be beneficial coping mechanisms for dealing with stress, they are certainly not the only ones.

How sports releases workplace stress

Our lives are becoming more fast-paced and interlinked, whilst at the same time we’re being overloaded with more and more information.

Stress has two sides: While intermittent levels of stress can push you to new levels of performance, an overload of stress is counterproductive and damaging to your health. To deal with high stress levels, there are proven coping strategies.

Body and mind go together. When stress affects the brain, the rest of the body feels the pain. The good news is that sport can help: Physical activity has a positive impact on the brain and reduces stress.

Exercise has shown to decrease overall levels of tension, elevate and stabilize mood, improve sleep and self-esteem and can even stimulate anti-anxiety effects.

That does not only include sports, but simple exercise routines like taking the stairs, yoga or a quick stroll through nature are mental breaks from what creates stress.

Breaks

The advantages of taking breaks are many. Breaks work best if you stimulate the opposite of what you do all day. That means if you are sitting long hours, take a break to walk. Or if you’re thinking the whole day, spend your break meditating.

Choice and flexibility

Studies show that stress and burnout are lower among workers engaged in all types of workplace flexibility arrangements. Some examples include flexible working time, remote work, activity-based working, part-time work, job-sharing, expanded leave and many more.

All of them improve our ability to engage in physical activity.

Imagine you can choose when you are active, when you would like to take a quick walk or work out, instead of squeezing your health routines around rigid working hours.

man working out with child in a crossfit gym
With flexible working arrangements, employees can create work-life integration.

That physical movement is important is not in question – the ability to exercise freely is.

Everyone’s energy peaks and falls at different times. That’s why it’s crucial to accommodate the diverse human needs that drive every individual’s energy. That means enabling employees to choose when and how they work best and when is their best time to be physically active or recover.

Employees with more access to workplace flexibility reported fewer mental health problems. They sleep better, report to make better lifestyle choices and experience less stress.

Support sustainable performance

What we must be conscious of, however, is if we blur the lines between work and life, we risk the chance to ‘always be on’, which inhibits the sustainability of our performance.

Make sure you empower your team to conscious off-time. Have clear arrangements when they are expected to be on and when it’s ok to disconnect.

Staying healthy means making sure you can perform over time. In the long term, sustainable, flexible arrangements trump short-sighted crunch times.

FIND OUT HOW YOUR WORKPLACE CULTURE CAN DRIVE PERFORMANCE

Read Next

How to build an active workplace

As a global sports brand, adidas is naturally attracting talents to our global workplaces who are interested in sport, but improving your mental health in the workplace through sport is about much more than athleticism and team workouts.

Research on physical activity by the World Health Organization shows, that a moderate but regular amount of movement is most beneficial to health.

To a big extent, each employee is responsible to build healthy life habits, but companies should support their employees in that, to move more by building an active workplace.

Workplace tools to empower health

To create natural movement throughout the day, your workplace should accommodate spontaneity and flexibility. That can reach from swapping the elevator for stairs, to encouraging your employees to take lunch runs or walking meetings.

Working on our new workplace concept, we fought for the massive staircase which is now the heart piece of our Arena building. It might sound simple, but if you look at the science behind it, you’ll be surprised how crucial it is to ramp up on easily accessible movement opportunities like stairs.

mental-health-stairs
Simply walking up the stairs can give you a lift.

We at adidas continuously dedicate ourselves to both, building naturally active workplaces and sporting fields. Buildings are generally farther apart, staircases at the center, walkways are wide, and employees can grab a bike to move between meetings.

Lockers and showers in office buildings allow people to run or cycle to work. Our sports facilities include fields for soccer, tennis, yoga, volleyball, climbing, and many more.

Additionally, with our headquarters located in southern Germany, we are surrounded by nature which gives perfect access to woods, fields and trails for any outdoor exercise:

Parks and tracks are naturally collaborative spaces
adidas' new Arena building at ther global HQ
Create the option for your employees to cycle or run to work conveniently
a group of people running outside
Sport spaces don’t always have to be built, nature gives the perfect training ground
running track at adidas' new Arena building at their global HQ
Our running trail leads across multiple buildings and straight into a shower and changing space
01 of

Design for the human experience

Having a human-centric approach to your workplace goes miles. Insights about how employees are using your workspace will tell you what they need to improve their health.

You don’t need to build a gym, just provide access to sport. An example: Flexible working hours combined with gym vouchers will empower your employees to access physical activity at their needs.

The importance of culture

What’s most important for the empowerment of employees to exercise, is setting the cultural tone.

Social connection and self-expression:

Workplaces that support social connectedness and foster self-expression enhance employee well-being. Diverse teams function best if every single member can express themselves fully while still finding commonalities as a team.

Providing diverse sports options supports team-building activities, increases collaboration and helps to fuel self-expression.

People can bond over the love for a specific sport or simply the action of pushing each other to their limits. If people can show up with their true selves to work, they are less likely to experience stress or social anxiety.

Role-model leadership

On my first day 15 years ago, I was luckily smart enough to bring sports clothes to work and at lunchtime found myself running with the head of our department (and now our current CFO), Harm Ohlmeyer. This is what sets the scene: Leaders who live sports can take away the anxiety for people to do it themselves.

group of people jumping on trampoline
Think “out of the gym”, when you choose collaborative sports space
group of women in a yoga class
Meditation and yoga classes help employees to work and move mindfully
artificial surfing wave at adidas' global HQ
Special experiences enable the most diverse employees to connect
two women boxing in a female boxing class
Bonding over a shared challenge can create meaningful relationships and reduce social anxiety
01 of

There is nothing stronger than seeing our CEO Kasper Rorsted working out in the morning or former head of Global Brands Eric Liedtke hitting the GYM at lunchtime. Role-model behavior from the top makes sure changes towards health are not only worth it but accepted.

If you want to build healthy routines into your workplace culture, leadership is much more important than infrastructure.

The takeaway is not rocket science. Listen to your people, provide them with the tools that enable greater flexibility and are centered on their human experience, and then create the workplace culture to support it.

You’ll create an environment where your teams can perform at their best because you supported their physical and mental health actively.

What would be the number one insight you’d apply straight away? Leave your comment below!

18 COMMENTS & EXTERNAL REFERRALS

Please take note of the commenting guidelines.
You will receive an email to approve your comment.
Please take note of the commenting guidelines.
You will receive an email to approve your comment.

Thanks for your comment

You will receive an email to approve your comment. It will only appear after your confirmation.

Okay

Oh no! An unexpected error occurred.

Try again
by Sebastian 18.10.2019
Love that. Leadership and culture are two of the most important factors for employee health. Work time models are another very interesting field, or the question whether any fixed amount of work time and holidays is even necessary or beneficial in many modern professions. I love the book „Drive“ by Daniel H. Pink, which covers many great ideas.
Reply
Nina Weihrauch
Nina Weihrauch | Editor Sebastian 29.11.2019
Hi Sebastian,

thanks for sharing your book recommendation here. Will check it out for sure!
How do you create your perfect work day? We'd love to hear more from you.

One reading tip from my side (if you haven't read it already): https://www.gameplan-a.com/workplace-culture/

Best,

Nina
Reply
by Aleksandra Horwood 24.10.2019
I absolutely love this approach. I teach yoga and meditation and it is so important that I practice what I preach.
By the way, is there a possibility of teaching in your stores in London?
Reply
Nina Weihrauch
Nina Weihrauch | Editor Aleksandra Horwood 02.12.2019
Hi Aleksandra,
nice to meet you! How do you help your yogis to find a habit of daily yoga/meditation practice? Any tips to share from your side?

If you could share your contact details/ social handles with us, we would like to forward them to our team in London, who would like to keep you in mind for future activations.

Best,
Nina
Reply
by Sina 28.10.2019
Truly grateful for the unique insights Martin shared! What I've found helpful were meditation breaks and walking meetings.
Reply
by Manuel Lito Quiero III 08.12.2019
Good materials for our workplace
Reply
by Andy Bonsu 11.12.2019
Very encouraging and good for all work places to help
Reply
by Jimmy 11.12.2019
Very useful information for both employers & employees!
Reply
by Örjan Ekblom 14.12.2019
Hi

This was a fine intro to the field.
We are currently carrying out a couple of studies in this area, described herr.
https://youtu.be/b92Q2Q8ZjiA

Reply
by Sina Örjan Ekblom 02.01.2020
Hi Örjan,

this research sounds super amazing, thanks for sharing the insights!
This field definitely deserves more research and people who are genuinely interested in acting upon the findings. All the best with the future of these projects!

Many thanks,
Sina
Reply
by Hazel O\\\'Neil 09.12.2020
Usually I never comment on blogs but your article is so convincing that I never stop myself to say something about it. You’re doing a great job, Keep it up.
Reply
by Ian Fletcher 11.12.2020
Really very happy to say,your post is very interesting to read.I never stop myself to say something about it.You’re doing a great job
Reply
by simple workouts 19.04.2021
This is a great post! Thanks so much for sharing!
Reply
by Evangeline 26.07.2021
Mental ability should be in perfect state for us to be focus on decision-making.
Reply
by James Fitchett 03.08.2021
Introduce a more consistent workout plan to reduce mental stress.
Reply
by Sebastian K 13.10.2021
Our bodies are our minds and our minds are our bodies, together they are better, and neither of which are meant to sit idle, that's what sleep is for! Getting ideas from staff and ensuring a weekly team sport /activity of some sort, whilst also encouraging group walking / jogging / cycling sessions at particular time slots of the day, when at work. Flexibility in working hours makes it easier for employees to be self determined in physicality - if they are that way inclined. However, if they are not, they simply wont bother. Leadership in making a work environment be one that fosters physicality, sport and togetherness, will encourage and motivate all. Indeed, instilling a culture of inclusive sport and activity in the workplace is the golden key. hope to see this become the norm someday. :-)
Reply
by Heart It Out 13.12.2022
Sport helps build team spirit among employees and thus helps with office teamwork. Visit https://heartitout.in/corporate/ if you are a company who is looking to take care of the mental health of it's employees
Reply

EXTERNAL REFERRALS

31.12.2019

SPORT, MENTAL HEALTH AND THE WORKPLACE – ABM Health Services