In recent times, we’ve been seeing an increase in awareness towards the importance of work-life balance. According to Facts, issue no. 94, published by the European Agency for Safety and Health at Work, the phrase Workplace Health Promotion (WHP) implies a collective effort by employers, employees and society. NetRefer takes up this stance and outlines practices commensurate with it.
Such practices entail activities geared towards effective ways for organising work, creating a better work environment, pushing for personal development, and promoting healthy activities. The last one can be anything from allowances for sports activities – an approach NetRefer has been adopting with its Wellbeing Allowance – to instilling small healthy daily habits. The bottom line is staying active and healthy.
There’s some consensus about an average of 30 minutes of physical activity every day being the minimum baseline figure. Despite this, according to statistics published by the U.S Department of Health and Human Services, as much as 80% of most adults do not meet the bare minimum standard of physical activity necessary.
If you ask most adults juggling work, family life, and a multitude of other responsibilities why they’re not physically active, the most common answer is that they don’t have the time. Although this is a legitimate justification, as Dr. Ron Friedman points out in an article in the Harvard Business Review, it’s a matter of perception.
When we say that we don’t have time for something, what it really means is that, within the given time we have in a day, something doesn’t rank high in our list of priorities. More clearly, as long as we consider physical activity as a luxury and not as our duty to ourselves and others, it’s hard for us to change our perception, and therefore, our behaviour.
On the other hand, if we consider the benefits – especially mental ones – different strands of research have shed light on, we can start to see how physical activity tips over into everything else we do – especially work. Friedman lists major benefits such as improved concentration, sharper memory, faster learning, prolonged mental stamina, enhanced creativity, and lower stress.
By embracing this, we become more productive and invigorated at work, while we also manage our time better and derive greater work satisfaction. He also argues that our interpersonal connections with our team members also hinge on our health levels. Working out improves our mood. This improves our aptitude to socialise and connect more easily with those around us.
With this in mind, NetRefer encourages recreational activity through its Wellbeing Allowance. Employees get a yearly bonus usable towards anything including:
- Classes including sports, yoga, meditation, Pilates, etc.
- Membership for gym, swimming pools, etc.
- Physiotherapy treatment
- Spa treatment
With this incentive, everyone receives the support they need to pursue their unique road towards physical and mental wellbeing. One more added benefit is that many colleagues are likely to find that they connect over a mutual activity of interest, allowing them to socialise and take their friendships out of the office as well.
Here at NetRefer, we believe that the individual components that make up the team are what makes it possible for the company to prevail. And this is why we strive to see that all NetReferians are healthy, both physically and mentally. We believe in the classical Latin adage, Mens Sana in Corpore Sano – a healthy mind in a healthy body, and to this we add – a healthy organisation.