Active Workplaces

Over one million adults are in employment in Greater Manchester and nearly one in four of them is inactive.

Workplaces then are a great way for GM Moving and our partners to reach a key audience and continue building activity into everyday life.

With 60% of our waking hours spent at work, for many more than half of their day is sedentary and these levels of inactivity are a real cause for concern.

Inactive staff have reduced workplace productivity and are at increased risk of health problems; 1.7% of working days in GM are lost each year to sickness and absence, with an estimated statutory sick pay cost to employers in our region of £90m.

It is therefore essential that employers support their staff to move more during the working day for both their employees’ and business’ health.

By increasing activity in the workplace, we can build more opportunities to move more, each day, into people’s lives.

The Benefits

We know there are many ways an active lifestyle is beneficial; it supports physical and mental wellbeing, reduces health problems and decreases stress levels.

The financial benefits of workplace activity are also clear to see. 

For employers, physically active employees take 27% less sick days than those who are inactive. For employees, just 90 minutes of activity per week during working hours can translate to increased earnings of 7.5%.

An increasing number of employers are seeing the benefits of a physically active workforce and are taking steps to enable physical activity at work. We know why staff need to move more and GM Moving partners across the city-region have some great ideas and offers of support to help employers to achieve this.

Get Involved - Community of Practice

Dr Sohail Munshi, Chief Medical Officer at Manchester Local Care Organisation explains why an active workplace is so important.

A new Community of Practice, focusing on Active Workplaces, was launched in January 2024. Read more about it here. If you'd like to find out more and/or join the next event, please get in touch with Claire using the contact details at the top of this page.

Active Soles

Active Soles is a movement which gives everyone the freedom to wear shoes that they're more able to move in.

Flat, comfortable shoes or trainers enable and encourage people to move more, and moving more has a positive impact on our work - as we have outlined above. We can all do great work in our active soles.

Active Soles is here to help you find your way to move more, every day - whether it is walking or wheeling. It is here to help everyone feel better and invite others to join our movement.

Read more about how Active Soles launched in Greater Manchester here.

Read Hayley Lever's blog on what we've learned about movement building through Active Soles.

Get Involved

Join GM Mayor Andy Burnham, NHS GM's Warren Heppolette, and many others within the #ActiveSoles movement by getting your active soles on and encouraging those around you to do the same. 

Whether it's adding a walking meeting to your diary or stretching your legs during a lunch break, all movement counts and it's so much easier with #ActiveSoles. 

Share your stories using the hashtag #ActiveSoles and tag in @GMMoving. 

Gazelles on & off to @GmMoving event. Message: you’ve got permission to wear trainers to work in GM (as long as you use them!) #activesoles pic.twitter.com/QkfCBRjVmo

— Andy Burnham (@AndyBurnhamGM) May 3, 2019

Ok, deep breath. I’m joining the #GMWalkingFestival in my smart new suit trainers (tnx to @hayleylever & @saratomkins for style choice!). This may not seem much, but switching from brogues to trainers for work is like Dylan going electric! pic.twitter.com/0l8krmN6F3

— Warren Heppolette (@wheppolette) May 1, 2019