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Cyclists are sick less often

Cycling can reduce sick leave according to a study for the Dutch government.

The research by respected independent research organisation TNO was commissioned by the Ministry of Health, Welfare and Sport and the Ministry of Transport, Public Works and Water Management to research:

the effects of regular cycling on levels of sick leave
the incentives to cycle and current cycling habits of the Dutch
the scale at which and reasons why Dutch employers encourage cycling to work.

Regular cyclists had significantly fewer days off for sickness: on average 7.4 days a year as compared to 8.7 days for the non-cyclists. There was also a relation between the distance cycled and frequency and level of sick leave. The more often they cycled and the greater the distance, the fewer days off for sickness.

Cyclists cited health as the most important reason for cycling. For non-cyclists, the main obstacles, in addition to living too far from work to be able to cycle, were the weather, and arriving sweaty at work. They indicated that living closer to work plus a reduction in travel time compared to other transport methods could stimulate them to cycle to work.

Cycle friendly employers

On the face of it, Dutch employers are more cycle-friendly than those in many other countries. Nearly half - 48% - of the 879 participating personnel managers indicated that their organisation encourages cycling to work. They do this mostly by offering facilities such as showers and good bike sheds. The three main ways to stimulate companies to encourage cycling to work were:

subsidy from government, eg. increasing the amount that can be spent on a company bike;
insight into the profits of such investment;
cooperation with a company that can promote cycling to work professionally.

More than 75% of the respondents were not familiar with the current campaigns or organisations that encourage cycling to work.

TNO calculated the potential financial benefits from encouraging cycling to work. They estimate that if the proportion of employees regaulrly cycling to work increased by 1%, Dutch employers could save around €27 million a year. (This assumes a working population of about 7.4 million people and an average cost to the employer per sickday of €280.)

All this may simply prove that cyclists tend to lead healthier lifestyles than non-cyclists rather than any specific benefit from cycling itself.

The research was carried out electronically among the employees of three large Dutch organisations. The rates of sick leave of the respondents for the year prior to the completion of the survey were then obtained from the employer. Of the 1235 employees, 64% cycled regularly, and 36% did not cycle. (Cycling regularly = cycle to work at least 3 times a week and at least 3 km one way, or at least four times a week and at least 2 km one way. Non-cyclist cycles to work less than once a week.)