This company pays you to exercise

Many companies aim for a competitive edge by providing employee perks – some offer free meals, others pay for you to take a holiday before you start.

But one company, which makes a profit by encouraging a ‘healthy living’ philosophy, is making sure the ideology is promoted from within the workplace also.

Clif Bar, a company that sells energy snacks, pays its employees to exercise for two and a half hours each week.

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Its founder and CEO, Kevin Cleary, came up with the idea for the company while on a daylong bike trip – and he continues to set an example when it comes to a healthy workplace culture.

In an interview with ABC News, Cleary said he encourages everyone to get out and exercise or use the in-house gym.

"It's a good example for me to set for people at the company," he told ABC.

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"There's a lot of times I'll go out for a run then I'll walk back through the company; and I'm going to a meeting and I'm still sweating, because I'm squeezing the workout in."

To counter the excuse of ‘I don’t have the time to work out’, he gives his employees half an hour ever day – or 2.5 hours each week – to exercise, all on company time.

The on-site gym has personal trainers and daily classes or you could use the rock-climbing wall if you feel like breaking with convention.

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Cleary also promotes a healthy, balanced lifestyle by way of his email policy, which encourages workers to switch off after working hours.

If an employee sends an email or makes a phone call after 6:30pm, the CEO won’t respond.