Well, using a bike to get to work can be good for you in all kinds of ways (health, wellbeing, financial status, the environment and so on…) but there are some real benefits in it for your employer too. It’s well in their interest to encourage and support you to cycle to work, as they too can be rewarded from an even more happy and healthy you. Cycling to work can…

  1. Get You There Faster | particularly in the UK’s major cities, including Paycare’s home of Wolverhampton, various research shows that cycling to work can sometimes get you there in half the time a car journey takes. In fact, during an hour’s driving in rush hour, over 30 minutes of that will see you average just 7mph in a car, compared to an average of around 12-15mph on a bike
  2. Help You Rest Better | of course, exercising before work (if there isn’t a shower available when you get there!) can seem daunting and may make you physically worn-out in the short-term, but you’ll benefit from a much deeper night’s sleep – making you alert and raring to go the next morning!
  3. Save the Planet | biking to work is not only beneficial for your health, but it can also reduce your own carbon footprint – helping you do your bit for the environment *and* save money by cutting fuel costs
  4. Help You Become More Focused at Work | A study by the University of Bristol found that employees who exercised before work or at lunchtime were more motivated at work and were able to deal with stress more effectively
  5. Be Simple | If you were eager to take up cycling as a more permanent means of getting to and from work, there are various Bike to Work and Cycle to Work initiatives available to help you get started. Not only are the above benefits of cycling available to you, but your employer will love you for getting involved too…
  6. Help Your Employer | The benefits to them can be massive, from paying less employer secondary Class 1 National Insurance contributions, helping to protect the environment one small (cycle) at a time and promoting environmentally-friendly practice, to benefiting from a happier, healthier and therefore more productive workforce (if you’re an employer and want to know about employee wellbeing now and in the future, visit our blog here.)

And did you know?

  • Cycling is three times faster than walking
  • Get there twice as fast as a car in traffic
  • 4 miles is the average cycle commute
  • 10 bikes can be parked in the space it takes to park one car
  • A middle-aged cyclist is typically as fit as someone 10 years younger
  • 16-mile commute = 800 calories. That’s 4 bags of crisps or 12 fig rolls or 6 bananas or 6 cans of coke
  • 60% of car trips are shorter than 5 miles