A Swedish company is forcing its staff to exercise, or leave. And it's proving quite controversial. CGTN's Guy Henderson reports from Stockholm.

Anyone who turns up early to work on Fridays at Bjorn Borg, might end up getting fired.

Staff at this Swedish sportswear company are now being forced to workout together at the nearby gym one morning a week instead.

With such a busy work schedule, it is seen as essential.

ANDREA HEGETHORN TRADE MARKETING MANAGER, BJORN BORG "It's one more thing to tick off and it's something that actually gives energy rather than sending 100 emails which takes energy. You need the energy to actually manage 100 emails."

The company carries out annual physical tests on workers to track their progress.

Management doesn't frown upon those who then choose to exercise several other times during work hours.

GUY HENDERSON STOCKHOLM "Staff here seem thrilled. They're far more productive, they're saying, they're taking fewer sick days, and hardly anyone appears to be quitting. But there is that question of personal choice too. This is the boss: doesn't he trust the people he's hired to make the decision themselves?"

Henrik Bunge once broke the world record for an unsupported trek to the South Pole.

And has a crystal clear view on what it takes to excel.

"some might say that is not your job — but I decided, well, it is." And indeed, what excelling is.

HENRICK BUNGE CEO, BJORN BORG "We know that training brings something more out of you: you'll be stronger, happier, better looking, all that good stuff. And then of course the difference between asking people to train and making it compulsory is that you also make it happen, you turn it into a habit. So that's really the reason: make people better."

One Swedish economist and author says the move is part of a worrying pattern: and that Sweden is amongst the worst offenders.

CARL CEDERSTROM AUTHOR, "DESPERATELY SEEKING SELF-IMPROVEMENT" "What you have, in the end, are very homogeneous organisations filled with people who love working out. This of course raises issues about what happens to those people who don't live up to those expectations: where will they go? And also, what will organisations miss out on: people who are good people, who are really great at their work, but who don't like to exercise and particularly don't like to exercise at work."

Bunge wants his team to be moving in the same direction. Critics might call it narrow-minded. He calls it focused. GH, CGTN, Stockholm.