Why employees belong on bikes

Thomas Cook does it, DHL too, and Google Germany anyway: they support their employees in purchasing and using bicycles and e-bikes. Even far smaller companies have long since recognized the advantages of bicycle mobility. The Freiburg-based energy service provider badenova, for example, offers its employees bicycle leasing together with a cooperation partner. Similar programs have also been launched by Kärcher, ebm pabst and many other medium-sized companies. More and more companies are helping their employees to switch from cars and trains to bicycles. And some have already had themselves certified – as a bicycle-friendly company.

More than just a trend

Those who may see these initiatives as nothing more than a fashionable trend should find out about the numerous benefits associated with active employee mobility, which can also be seen in business terms. Getting employees on bikes, especially for the daily commute to and from work, is a proven investment in their health and well-being.

Although cycling has significant potential to improve the health of working people through daily exercise, it does not appear to have been considered and used as an integral part of workplace health management. An “active commute” in particular offers the ideal opportunity to integrate health-promoting behavior into everyday life and is thus far superior to temporary and selective measures. The World Health Organization has long recommended moderate physical exertion of 30 minutes per day. A few kilometers, covered day after day with muscle power to work and home, effectively counteract our chronic lack of exercise and promote health.

This now seems to be confirmed by a recent study conducted between November and December 2014 among 2,351 professionals as a scientific academic thesis in Germany (author: Juliane Kemen), which the Troisdorf-based consulting company EcoLibro recently presented to the public. The results show “that people who actively manage their commute year-round have, on average, one-third fewer sick days than other road users,” according to EcoLibro.

Significantly lower sickness rate

According to the study, employees who cycle to and from work every day missed only 3.41 working days due to illness in 2014. Only pedestrians were missing slightly less, at 3.31 days. Car drivers were sick an average of 5.26 days per year, nearly two days longer than bicyclists and pedestrians. The latter also performed better than public transport users (5.32) and mix users with a high proportion of car trips. The average number of sick days among participants with up to 30 sick days per year was 4.70 days.

Even if it cannot be ruled out that it is in any case particularly health-conscious employees who cycle or walk at least part of their way to work all year round – according to the study, these people also have a more favorable body mass index (BMI) and feel better overall.

All well and good, but isn’t cycling also dangerous? While the study confirms that bicyclists have a higher risk of accidents than drivers, “this risk, measured by number of sick days, is significantly lower than the positive effect of physical activity,” the study concludes. Safe bicycles, appropriate clothing and the positive training effect of daily riding should also reduce the individual risk of accidents.

Help from the tax office

The cited study, incidentally the first of its kind for Germany, shows that employers can significantly and permanently improve the health and well-being of their employees by encouraging and supporting the use of active modes of transport on the way to work. You can save on personnel costs and increase employee satisfaction.

They even receive support from the state. The tax authorities favor the purchase of bicycles by the employer: The “1% rule” from the so-called company car privilege now also applies in a similar way to bicycles and e-bikes since a new tax regulation in November 2012. Employees can conveniently finance their new bike, pedelec or e-bike via their monthly pay slip by converting their salary and thus save hard cash. For the employee, this means that the non-cash benefit arising from the provision of the company bike by the employer must be taxed monthly at one percent of the gross list price. Company bicycles are even better off than company cars: the journey to work by bicycle does not have to be taxed.

Healthy mobility made easy

Tax incentives have probably played a decisive role in the emergence of a large number of providers in Germany offering leasing for company bicycles and providing employers with the most cost-effective route to the new healthy mobility concepts.

Consulting companies such as EcoLibro or the Allgemeine Deutsche Fahrrad Club e.V. (ADFC) offer employers specialized know-how and practical services. Software-supported geographical analyses can be used to determine an optimal mobility mix for employees with the aim of achieving the highest possible proportion of physical activity. Incentive programs and other complementary measures help to make the switch to bicycles attractive and to maintain it in the long term. Health insurance companies support bicycle-friendly initiatives in many places with their public relations work and cooperative ventures.

Bicycle friendly company

Even certification as a “bicycle-friendly company” is possible: The ADFC has developed a consulting concept for this with a sophisticated catalog of criteria that also takes the company infrastructure into account. This includes appropriate bicycle parking facilities and changing rooms for employees who cycle.

Where these are lacking, the shift to bicycle mobility will not happen without additional investment. Money, however, that should be well spent in the fitness, health and well-being of employees. And since cycling is somehow also a trend, bicycle-friendly companies will score points not least in terms of public perception and among health- and environmentally-conscious employees.