Cambridge has the healthiest workers in the UK, with almost half of the city’s commuters travelling on foot or by bicycle, research reveals.
A study by the Chartered Society of Physiotherapy places the city at the top of the list of the healthiest workers. Enfield, north London, is at the bottom, with only one in 20 employees cycling or walking to work.
The research shows that 44% of people in Cambridge walk or cycle to work, followed by 38% in Kelvin in Glasgow, Aberdeen and York, and 37% in central Edinburgh.
Jacqui Smith, chair of the Association of Chartered Physio-therapists in Occupational Health and Ergonomics, said employers had a role to play in helping to maintain a healthy workforce.
She said knowing health and safety legislation, and conducting a risk assessment, were not enough.
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“Once you have identified areas of risk you need a system to manage it,” Smith said. “Employers should make staff aware of what symptoms could mean, and give them training in how to adapt their equipment. There must also be someone for them to go to if things go wrong.”
Smith added that staff should be given the chance to vary tasks as often as possible. If the job did not allow this, employers should introduce regular breaks.
