Page 45 - Occupational Health & Safety, October 2017

are major risk factors for long-term conditions,” said Paul Nuki, founding editor of NHS.uk and a co-founder of StepJockey, a digi- tal health business that promotes stair use in large office buildings. “By encouraging office staff to use the stairs in place of the elevators and escalators, property owners can dramatically lower this risk while at the same time boosting fire safety.”
Stair climbing is officially classed as a vigorous form of physi- cal activity and burns more calories per minute than jogging. The health benefits of stair climbing1 are well documented with studies showing that climbing just four or five flights of stairs a day can re- duce the risk of heart attack and stroke by up to 30 percent if made a habit over time.
How to Boost Stair Climbing in Your Buildings?
It is relatively easy to boost stair use in almost all office buildings because fire safety regulations already mandate that stairs are well positioned and maintained.
The academic research, of which there is much, shows the single most important factor in efficiently promoting stair use is to make sure stair entrances are well sign-posted with effective health mes- saging. “The key is to place good, strong, and motivational signage at all the key point-of-decision points,” said Nuki. “Every elevator call button should have a prompt next to it suggesting you take the stairs. Likewise, there should be a sign adjacent to every stair door to nudge people in.”
The academic evidence base shows2 that well- placed stair prompts increase stair use in most buildings by 50 percent and that the impact is maintained over time.
Seth Valchev is a Digital Marketing Consultant at StepJockey, a be- havioral change program that provides a simple and evidence based mechanism for making multi-story offices more active and produc- tive. With a true passion for anything digital and commerce, he has worked across multiple SMEs implementing and developing market- ing strategies. Connect with him at https://www.linkedin.com/in/ seth-valchev/. StepJockey’s award-winning behavioral change pro- gram provides a simple and evidence-based mechanism for making multi-story offices more active and productive. Its proprietary smart- sign and gamification technology is used by employers worldwide to combat sedentary behavior in the workplace by encouraging stair use. It allows all staff to seamlessly build exercise into their working week without disruption to the business. The system is used in more than 12,000 buildings around the world by clients, including Disney, Pear- son, JLL, UBS, Channel 4, NBC, and The Wellcome Trust.
REFERENCES
1. https://www.stepjockey.com/health-benefits-of-stair-climbing 2. https://www.stepjockey.com/evidence-and-guidance
wwwU.notihtlesdo-4nli1ne.com
OCTOBER 2017 | Occupational Health1&/11S/1a7fet1y1:26 A4M1
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