“Are you ready?”
Christine Moen Hansen lifts her gaze towards the group in front of her. On the steps in front of a school in Drammen, 16 women are spread across different stations.
They have already warmed up, some are quite tired, but the smiles come easily and they are ready for another session.
“Yes!” they answer, although not entirely in unison.
They are in the final part of today’s outdoor bootcamp. They rotate between different exercise stations doing jump squats, squats, lunges, core work for the abdomen and back and some exercises with light weights (for those who want to).
More than a workout
The group has been meeting regularly for workouts like this for several years, all organised by Buskerud and Vestfold Corporate Sports Club, one of 11 regional associations within the Norwegian Corporate Sports Association.
We talk to two of the participants who have been here since the start.
“It’s really good,” they say, and explain that the social aspect is at least as important as the actual training.
Colleagues, neighbours, friends and family meet here. Some work together, others have come to know each other through the training. Many live in the same neighbourhood, near where they exercise.
“If someone doesn’t show up, they’re missed. We know each other well after a while.”
If the weather permits, they train outdoors. In winter, they use an indoor sports hall.
Christine Moen Hansen is head of department at Buskerud and Vestfold Corporate Sports Club. She is a trained physiotherapist and works as an instructor for several corporate sports activities including the outdoor bootcamp.
Moen Hansen adapts the sessions to allow everyone to participate at their own level. The participants say this gives them a sense of security.
“This is a low-threshold offer. Everyone can participate. You do your best,” says Moen Hansen.
“And it’s important that it’s a bit of play, not just hard work.”
They also sometimes meet outside of the sessions. They have BBQ parties in the coach’s garden and there are summer and Christmas parties.
The workplace as an arena for health
The Norwegian Corporate Sports Association calls itself Norway’s largest provider of public health and social sustainability. The ambition is clear: A healthier and happier Norway!
The Norwegian Corporate Sport Association
A non-profit membership organisation founded in1957
One of the largest associations in the Norwegian Confederation of Sports
Around 1250 corporate sports clubs across 11 regional associations
Nearly 300,000 annual participants across more than 50 activities
Offers a broad range of courses, group sessions and events
Members get discounts on activities
The association also offers regional membership for individuals, especially in places without a local corporate sport association
The association secretariat is mainly funded by lottery grants and national measures like Cycle to Work and Active Business, while the regional associations are funded through memberships, activities and cooperation partners.
They also want to contribute to a working life where activity and community form a natural part of everyday life.
“The workplace is one of our most important arenas for everyday health,” says Pia Grøngaard. She is the leader for corporate sports in Buskerud and Vestfold.
Grøngaard points out that benefits go far beyond physical good health.
“When you have been jumping around together the evening before, sweating and panting, it is probably easier to chat at work the next day too.
“This is about more than exercising. It’s about belonging, a sense of achievement and being seen,” says Grøngaard.
“We say hello to people we don’t necessarily know. And we notice when someone is missing and let them know they’re missed. This is about how we treat people,” says Grøngaard.
Corporate sport also collaborates with Vestfold county council on ABC for good mental health.
“We try to develop a guide for how volunteers can use ABC. ABC for good mental health is a public health campaign focused on creating and strengthening good mental health for the entire population. The ABC messages are: Do something active, do something together and do something meaningful,” explains Grøngaard.
Exercise and wellbeing
Wellbeing in the workplace is not only about creating good working conditions and a positive work environment. Physical activity plays a crucial role both for employees’ wellbeing and their productivity.
All little exercise at work has an effect
Copenhagen West Region Police offer employees voluntary “mini exercises” once or twice a week. The sessions are short and adapted to different working days – from elastic band training for those in sedentary positions, to strength exercises for more physically active workers.
According to health and safety manager Sanna Olofsson, the initiative not only helps prevent pain, but also increases wellbeing, a sense of community and energy in people’s working day.
Professor Lars L. Andersen at the National Research Centre for the Working Environment (NFA) has researched training during working hours for more than 20 years. He points out that effects can be achieved with very small measures.
“You don’t need much to make a difference. Even two minutes of training three times a week can reduce pain and sickness absence,” says Andersen.
Research also shows that if such measures were implemented widely, sickness absence could be reduced by up to 13 per cent.
Source: The National Research Centre for the Working Environment (NFA)
Studies show that exercise can reduce stress, improve mental health and strengthen the community feeling among colleagues.
So what is the link between exercise and wellbeing?
- Exercise releases endorphins, which improve mood and reduce stress.
- Regular physical activity reduces fatigue and improves concentration.
- When colleagues exercise together, it strengthens social relationships.
- It improves sleep and mental health.
In other words: Companies that facilitate activities can achieve several benefits at once: Lower sickness absence, a better work environment – and employers like this are also extra attractive in a competitive labour market.
“Offering a good activity programme can be decisive both in terms of recruiting and retaining employees,” says Grøngaard.
The joy of running
Around the same time as people are jumping around at the outdoor bootcamp, a group of ladies arrive at the gate to the athletics track in Drammen. They are here for a running course organised by Buskerud and Vestfold Corporate Sports Club.
The course is funded through the workplace welfare association in Vestre Viken. The running course is just one of many activities offered – outside of working hours.
Participants attend the running curse in their spare time. They are not exercising during working hours. The employer has not facilitated this.
Vestre Viken is a major health sector employer and is responsible for many different workplaces – from big hospitals to smaller units. Some of the participants know each other already but most do not.
They all want to get started with running. Some have been running a bit before, others very little.
The running coach has several world championship medals, and quickly sets the tone:
“The threshold should be low. Everyone should be able to participate.”
The session consists of a gentle warm-up, simple technique exercises and ends with some interval training. Between exercises there is time for some theory and questions.
“Don’t stress about watches and heart rate. Run by feel,” the running coach says.
The participants run lap after lap. At a pace that allows them to chat.
Norwegians want to exercise during working hours
There are no statistics for how much exercise is being done during working hours in Norway. Figures vary depending on whether a survey measures the availability or the actual use, and which source is used.
But it does at least provide an indication for how things are going:
Statistics Norway (SSB) has previously reported that around one in five Norwegian workers have a real offer of doing exercise during working hours.
A newer, Nordic survey from the insurance company If (carried out by Kantar) shows that more than half of Norwegian workers have some sort of support for/offer of physical activity from their employer.
More than half of Norwegian workers want to exercise more during working hours, according to a 2026 report from the gym chain SATS, but only 38 per cent say their employer allows for this.
Physical exercise as an HSE measure
Meanwhile, several surveys show that our working lives are increasingly sedentary, with a lot of screen time at work and in private life. We also move less. A considerable proportion of adults do not reach the officially recommended levels of physical activity.
The Corporate Sports Association believes the solution can be found where people already are – at work.
Nordic report: A more sedentary population
Sedentary work, a lot of screen time and less movement has become many Nordic citizens’ everyday life. This is according to the report NORMO 2025 – Nordic Monitoring 2014–2024.
“We are about to become a sedentary and overweight population who spend too much time in front of a screen,” said Karen Ellemann, Secretary General of the Nordic Council of Ministers, at the launch.
Some main findings:
56 per cent of Nordic adults and one in five children are overweight or obese. This is an increase on 2014.
Up to one in three adults do not meet the recommended level of physical activity.
One in four adults are considered physically inactive.
On average, those who are active say they are active five to six times a week
We consume less fruit and vegetables and more sugar.
The consumption of energy drinks has more than doubled in ten years.
There are still clear social differences when it comes to health habits.
“Employers must facilitate for more movement where people are actually spending most of their time,” Sverre Flatebø, the president of the Norwegian Corporate Sports Association has said in the past.
He believes exercise must become a natural part of health, safety and environment (HSE) activities, as skills development, and follow-up after sick leave.
It is also worth noting that it has been nearly 20 years since an amendment to the Norwegian work environment act stated that employers must “…consider measures to promote physical activity among employees”.
Corporate sport associations cooperate with small and large workplaces and offer everything from regular group exercise sessions to courses and campaigns like “Cycle to work”.
And according to employees and ambassadors from corporate sport associations, there are many low-threshold measures that are inclusive, social and effective, including activities organised through corporate sports, a more active way to commute, group activities at work, allowing for active breaks or walking meetings.
“See you next time!”
On the athletics track, this session’s last interval has been completed, and the last strength exercises are finished at the outdoor bootcamp.
The participants gather, wipe away sweat and chat a little before going their separate ways. Some will meet the next day at work. But in a couple of weeks, the runners will meet again on the athletics track for their second course session.
And the bootcamp gang? The ones who have been exercising regularly together for several years? They do not really have to say it, because they know:
“See you at the next session!”
