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Compulsory exercise at the office, Sweden鈥檚 latest craze

Employees of Bjoern Borg sportswear brand are pictured during a yoga class on January 26, 2018, in Stockholm, Sweden.聽Workers spending their lunch break at the gym may be commonplace in most Western countries, but in Sweden some employers are pushing the idea even further, making on-the-job exercise compulsory. AFP

STOCKHOLM, Sweden 鈥 Workers spending their lunch break at the gym may be commonplace in most Western countries, but in Sweden some employers are pushing the idea even further, making on-the-job exercise compulsory.

Every Friday, employees of fashion and sportswear retailer Bjorn Borg leave their desks at the company鈥檚 Stockholm headquarters to get their weekly workout at a nearby gym.

There is no getting out of it: for more than two years the company founded by the Swedish tennis legend has made on-the-job exercise mandatory at the initiative of chief executive Henrik Bunge, a 44-year-old built like a wrestler.

鈥淚f you don鈥檛 want to exercise or be a part of the company culture, you have to go,鈥 says Bunge, without batting an eye. So far no one has quit because of the requirement, he adds.

The main aims of the policy 鈥 shared by other firms such as city water company Kalmar Vatten and construction consultancy Rotpartner 鈥 are to boost productivity and profitability while fostering camaraderie in the work force.

In 2014, a University of Stockholm study showed that exercising during the workday was advantageous for both employees 鈥 who were healthier and more concentrated 鈥 and the employer.

The study found there was a 22 percent decline in work absences, not negligible in a country where the average person is on sick leave four percent of the time, twice the European average.

Rosy-cheeked and smiling, the 60 Bjorn Borg employees taking part in this week鈥檚 grueling yoga session head to the changing rooms, their endorphins soaring.

鈥淢ost of us think it鈥檚 a really good part of the work week,鈥 says employee Cecilia Nissborg.

Healthy outdoor lifestyle

Swedes have long been known for their healthy outdoorsy lifestyle. Long walks to pick mushrooms or berries, or just for pleasure, regardless of the weather, are part of their everyday lives.

鈥淚n Sweden there鈥檚 this idea that you鈥檒l be healthy, strong and happy if you get a lot of exercise, if you spend a lot of time in nature,鈥 says Carl Cederstrom, an economics researcher at Stockholm University and the author of 鈥淭he Wellness Syndrome鈥, a critique of the pervasive ideology of wellness.

He notes that it is a common belief in Sweden 鈥渢hat if you exercise and take care of your body, you鈥檙e a better person鈥.

Swedes get more exercise than anyone else in Europe. A 2014 Eurobarometer poll found that 70 percent of Swedes exercised once a week, and 51 percent two to three times a week. At the bottom of the rankings, only 22 percent of Bulgarians exercised once a week.

Swedes also generally see being in shape as a duty to oneself and society, an expectation dating to the 1930s, when a cult of youth, vigor and 鈥渟ocial hygiene鈥 flourished, Cederstrom says.

But people also see it as a 鈥渞esponsibility you have to your employer鈥, he adds.

鈥楨veryone is equal鈥 at the gym

Since the late 1980s, most Swedish companies subsidize their employees鈥 sporting activities 鈥 from golf to water aerobics 鈥 contributing up to 500 euros ($615) per year, which is tax deductible for the employer.

And some, like at Bjorn Borg, go so far as to organize exercise classes during work time.

Bunge is convinced the workplace he has created has made employees happier and more productive, noting that all the company鈥檚 key numbers have gone up since the new regime was introduced.

Mandatory workouts, usually in a group, also have other benefits.

They bring together all the departments of a company, allowing employees to put their work responsibilities aside and get to know each other on an equal footing.

鈥淲hen we go into the gym, we鈥檙e all on the same level. Your place in the company has no importance, everyone is equal,鈥 says Ida Lang, who works in Bjorn Borg鈥檚 accounting department.

For Cederstrom, while the search for wellbeing and performance through physical activity is not unique to the Scandinavian country, 鈥淪weden is really extreme when it comes to companies that make exercise on the job mandatory鈥.

It is a development he finds worrying.

鈥淲hen you start to think that you鈥檙e a better mother or a better father or a better friend if you exercise, you can get to a point where you think that people who don鈥檛 live healthily, who are overweight or who smoke, are less good people,鈥 he says. /cbb

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