Working out at the office

To minimise health-related absenteeism, burnouts and medical claims, organisations should make fitness a workplace goal

A word of recent origin, deskfast symbolises a workplace malady. In its primary meaning, the term denotes having a late and hasty breakfast at the work station, often involving rustled-up food devoid of nutritious value. And then it connotes a willing compromise on health to meet workplace goals. Deskfast has become a feature of our offices. So has ‘the skipped lunch’.

On the surface, they suggest dedication and drive. However, they are detrimental to the organisation. For, when many of its employees neglect their health, an organisation is likely to be faced with increased cases of sick leave, medical claims and burnouts.

To avoid these problems,  health has to be made a workplace goal. The majority of  organisations  send out communications to their employees promoting healthy habits and food. However, these efforts are often too weak to purge unhealthy lifestyles and bad eating habits.

HR experts say these initiatives should be pointed, attractive, sustained and aggressive, and more importantly, sewn into the regular processes at the workplace.

No escape routes

“If you think your employees would be better off taking the stairs a few times, turn off the lift for a period of time every day,” says A.V. Sreekanth, general manager — HR & Administration, Acurus Solutions Pvt. Ltd., Chennai.

He points out that such a move would be more productive than putting up a note next to the lift: “It’s better to ignore the lift and take the stairs!” Says Sreekanth, “In all likelihood, the majority would ignore the lift.”

Institute a reward system

Sreekanth believes a reward system can encourage employees to get into better shape. “If an employee loses weight and gets fit following a company-driven wellness initiative, give this fact some weightage while assessing him and link a small portion of the reward to this effort,” he says.

Use social networks

On social networks created exclusively for its employees, an organisation may highlight the successful fitness efforts taken by an employee.

Employees could be encouraged to share how they triumphed over any health issue.

Give fitness a name

Inviting exemplary members of fitness groups to talk to employees can promote an organisation health’s objectives. In recent times, across India, interest in running and trekking is growing at a galloping pace. Many organisations are keen on seeing their employees taking part in such activities.

Founder of Chennai Trekking Club, Peter Van Geit who takes up a variety of outdoor fitness activities, besides trekking, says he increasingly finds himself being asked to talk to employees of organisations about keeping fit. “Companies now regularly sponsor their employees for treks,” says Geit.

He has also noticed a rise in corporates sending their employees to marathons, where they can take up easier and shorter runs.

Marry fun and fitness

Fitness initiatives infused with entertainment evokes a more enthusiastic response from employees.

Fitness-based contests could be organised off the cuff, with bragging rights offered as the reward.

Promote good dietary habits

Healthy food should be an option at the office canteen and the ‘health food’ counter should be made more appetising.

Involve the families

The employee is affected when any of his family members falls sick, which can reflect on his work.

Therefore, families of employees have to be involved in some of the health and nutrition programmes. Aashish Singh, vice president and head, global HR services, First Advantage, believes creating demographic profiles of employees can help address the health needs of their families.

Aashish narrates an experience he had while working at a company that offered IT-enabled services.

“The ITES industry has a predominantly young workforce mainly drawn from tier-2 and tier-3 cities. The relatives of these young employees live in those cities, where access to great medical facilities and expertise is often difficult. Often, a relative would need a second opinion on an advised procedure. In this company I was working, this need was frequently felt. So, a third party vendor was brought on board to offer guidance on health-related issues. The employee could call or log in to a website and access this service. The initiative helped, enabling these employees to free their mind of worries and focus on their work.”