WORKERS at certain firms in Sweden are being forced to complete on-the-job exercise in a bid to improve productivity.

Every Friday, employees of fashion and sportswear retailer Bjorn Borg leave their desks at the company’s Stockholm headquarters to have their weekly workout at a nearby gym.

There is no getting out of it: For more than two years the company founded by the Swedish tennis legend has made on-the-job exercise mandatory at the initiative of chief executive Henrik Bunge, a 44-year-old built like a wrestler.

“If you don’t want to exercise or be a part of the company culture, you have to go,” says Bunge, without batting an eye. So far no one has quit because of the requirement, he adds.

The main aims of the policy — shared by other firms such as city water company Kalmar Vatten and construction consultancy Rotpartner — are to boost productivity and profitability while fostering camaraderie in the workforce.

Swedes get more exercise than anyone else in Europe. A 2014 Eurobarometer poll found that 70 percent of Swedes exercised once a week, and 51 percent two to three times a week.

At the bottom of the rankings, only 22 percent of Bulgarians exercised once a week.

(SD-Agencies)

Since the late 1980s, most Swedish companies subsidise their employees’ sporting activities - from golf to water aerobics - contributing up to ￡446 per year, which is tax deductible for the employer.

And some, like at Bjorn Borg, go so far as to organise exercise classes during work time.

Bunge is convinced the workplace he has created has made employees happier and more productive, noting that all the company’s key numbers have gone up since the new regime was introduced.

Mandatory workouts, usually in a group, also have other benefits.

They bring together all the departments of a company, allowing employees to put their work responsibilities aside and get to know each other on an equal footing.