Gympass, the world’s biggest corporate wellbeing platform, has released its Impact of Covid-19 in the Fitness & Wellness Universe report. Showing how COVID-19 will continue to impact the fitness industry, it also reveals how corporate wellness is top-of-mind among employers and employees to support people’s health and productivity in the now-normal blended home/office work practice.
The study surveyed 9,000 employees from across the UK, USA, Brazil, Germany, Mexico, Spain Italy, Argentina and Chile.
A resounding 94% of employees said wellbeing is important for their workplace productivity and 77.4% of employers concur with this view. An overwhelming 77% of employees believe their employer should support them in this by providing access to wellness options.
As employers start to plan for post-lockdown work life, 44.95% say some form of home office will remain post-Covid. This means that continued flexibility in corporate wellness programmes must remain to support employees, whether based at home or the office.
A picture of ‘omnichannel fitness’ has formed during the pandemic with people seeking to combine the best of both worlds dovetailing online workouts with offline activity. Empowerment to work out is another key finding of the Gympass research with people now having higher expectations for fitness products with 49.12% enjoying an activity routine without a traditional gym membership.
There has been a significant shift to online workouts with a 36% rise in people trying these and the majority of 42.06% favouring YouTube for their content. This is not the end of offline workouts however, as 40% of respondents believe these give them better results, indicating demand will rise once fitness facilities’ timetables are back up and running. Confidence is quite high among consumers with 37.3% saying they consider gyms that follow the correct protocols to be safe.
This blended approach of online and offline activity will continue after the pandemic. In addition, the rise in outdoor exercise looks set to stay with 16.4% saying they want to keep their new-found habit after social distancing restrictions end.
The impact report shows an increased interest in personal training and classes at a gym or studio as people seek the support and motivation of in-person instruction and a decreased interest in on-demand programmes as the need for these diminishes.
“This is the largest survey we’ve created of its kind, that could be helpful in understanding the complex outcomes following the impact of COVID-19 on people’s fitness and wellness preferences,” says Luke Bullen, CEO, Gympass UK/IE. “Flexibility and support are both key requirements for a corporate wellness platform going forwards to allow people to combine online and offline activity, engage with in-person instruction and fit their activity choices around a blended home/office working environment.
“We hope that by mapping the main barriers and behaviours of customers around the world, we can help employers make decisions to enable their workforce to fulfil their health and career aspirations post COVID-19.”
See the survey here:
https://hs.gympass.com/en/ebook-future-of-fitness-and-wellness-universe