Companies invest in health, but are they doing it right? New report from the Institute of Occupational Medicine

The latest report “Movement in the interest of health” by the Nofer Institute of Occupational Medicine sheds light on how Polish companies (1,032 organizations surveyed) approach the well-being of their employees. Conclusions? They are fascinating and thought-provoking. The latest report “Movement in the interest of health” by the Nofer Institute of Occupational Medicine sheds light on how Polish companies (1,032 organizations surveyed) approach the well-being of their employees. Conclusions? They are fascinating and thought-provoking. The full report can be found here: View On the one hand – bravo! 👏 Most companies take voluntary pro-health measures. On the other hand – a deeper analysis shows that these are often superficial actions, based on intuition rather than real data and needs. As someone who deals with employee health on a daily basis, I analyzed this document. Here are the key findings and what they mean for your organization.

Problem #1: Passivity and lack of strategy

The report shows that health promotion in companies is mostly passive. What does that mean?

• 58% of companies offer facilities for cyclists.
• 29% subsidize sports subscriptions. These are great initiatives, but they are like providing a fishing rod without fishing instructions. The problem is that more than half of the companies (52%) offering sports cards do not monitor at all whether employees use them! Worse still, these actions rarely stem from a strategy:
• Only 8% of companies analyze data on the health status of their staff.
• Only 12% collect information about employees' health expectations.
• Only 5% have a written, well-thought-out health strategy. Conclusion: Companies invest, but often “blindly”, without knowing whether their actions are effective and whether they respond to real problems.

Problem #2: Silent crisis in offices – pain and the effects of sedentary work

The report indicates that in the surveyed companies, as many as 65% of employees work mainly in a sitting position. That is an army of people exposed to back pain, neck pain, stiffness, and a drop in productivity. This is the real, hidden cost of office work. And how do companies respond to this? Unfortunately, poorly.

• Only 6% of companies offer physiotherapy treatments or massages on company premises.
• Only 3% organize group exercises during work hours. This shows a huge gap. We give employees gym cards for a gym they often don't have time to go to, ignoring the problem that builds up over 8 hours at a desk.

How to respond to these challenges? Time for active and measurable solutions!

The report is a call to change the approach – from passive to active, from intuitive to data-driven. Instead of another benefit that becomes just a line item in the budget, we need solutions that work here and now. Direct intervention in the office: massage and physiotherapy Instead of waiting for the employee to find help on their own, offer it in the workplace. Our solution – office massage (www.masazbiurowy.com) – is a direct answer to the needs of people working in a seated position. Short, regular sessions in the office reduce pain, decrease stress, and genuinely improve well-being. This is a benefit that employees feel immediately.