Last month I was asked to give a talk on general health and wellness for the Hong Kong branch of LinkedIn. A majority of the company’s workforce is younger than 35, and it might be tempting to assume that this demographic would have a better understanding of the importance of good work/life balance, posture, exercise and nutrition. I was therefore surprised to learn that the job demands for these young professionals are already taking their toll in terms of physical health and wellbeing. Some are experiencing chronic fatigue and pain, and sadly very few are exercising more than three times per week.
My talk at LinkedIn focused on health and wellness, and obviously this is quite a broad topic. Although my expertise more specifically lies in physical fitness and injury management & care, my experience in these areas has given me a solid grasp of nutrition and the importance of rest. I also have gained an awareness over the years that emotional distress, if not managed correctly, can soon manifest into a physical ailment. Working at The Body Group has allowed me to gain a more in-depth knowledge of how these factors interrelate, and I was able to include these concepts in my discussion.
Corporate awareness and implementation of preventative strategies for health in this setting are really beginning to gain traction. More recently, I facilitated a similar workshop at BASF and discussed workplace posture and strategies for injury prevention. Going on-site and meeting people in their work environment enables me to help them put basic principles into practice immediately. During these workshops at LinkedIn and BASF, I provided employees with a worksheet of easy-to-follow postural guidelines as well as simple exercises to target areas that often become painful or fatigued during the day.
One of the greatest benefits of this type of outreach is encouraging each company as a whole to adopt a culture of balance and awareness when it comes to mental and physical health. Empowering staff to make a positive change in their work environment allows corporations to maximize profits and minimize losses by preventing injury and illness in the workplace. It also boosts office morale when employees feel genuinely cared for by management that arranges to have health professionals come in and improve their work experience. This is truly a win-win situation.
Please contact us at info@thebodygroup.com if you are interested in organizing a similar workshop at your office.
