Workplace workouts can snag on stressful corporate culture

By Dorene Internicola NEW YORK (Reuters) - As evidence mounts that fit employees are productive workers, companies have slotted into the corporate routine an array of workplace workout initiatives, from in-house gyms to lunchtime yoga. “This demand for 24/7 access, this idea that I can always access you and you should intensely, immediately respond, is a stressor, and we know from studies that chronic stress will shorten your life and ultimately kill you,” said Dr. Mary Ellen Rose, a Washington, D.C.-based consultant for workplace health promotion. Patrick Hitchins, co-founder of FitRankings, an Austin, Texas-based fitness tech company that ranks the fitness levels of individuals and companies, notes that most fit people in a company are usually the executives. “For employees to perform at their best they need to be fit, yet workplaces have become anti-fit and increasingly sedentary,” he said.

via Health News Headlines - Yahoo News http://news.yahoo.com/workplace-workouts-snag-stressful-corporate-culture-120256745.html