Our cycling team receiving their race kits!
The team is comprised of employees and clients. Strengthening relationships, sharing cycling knowledge and motivating one another throughout the year in the lead up to the main event. The L’Etape Australia by le Tour de France located in NSW’s Snowy Mountains on December 2 2017.
Healthy lifestyle and fitness is an integral part of WINconnect’s culture. Through yearly participation in the Australian Corporate Triathlon and the upcoming L’Etape Australia event, we aim to motivate and empower employees to achieve health and fitness goals. We believe that healthy lifestyle benefits gained through encouraging employees to ride to work, walk at lunchtime and train together for these events assists in developing strong teams and a positive workplace culture.
Our support of employee participation in events encourages a stronger workplace community, improved physical fitness, stress reduction and promotes general wellbeing.
Building a stronger workplace community –
Group activities increase communication, trust, bonding and respect for fellow employees and contribute to being a united organisation. Increased morale and cohesive workplace culture helps build stronger relationships as employee’s works towards a common goal.
Improved physical fitness –
With many of us working in an office environment, the addition of daily exercise can immensely improve physical fitness and overall wellbeing. The Physical Activity & Sedentary Behavioural Guidelines for adults (18-64) recommends:
- Be active on most, preferably all, days every week.
- Accumulate 150 to 300 minutes (2 ½ to 5 hours) of moderate intensity physical activity or 75 to 150 minutes (1 ¼ to 2 ½ hours) of vigorous intensity physical activity, or an equivalent combination of both moderate and vigorous activities, each week.
- Do muscle strengthening activities on at least 2 days each week.
- Minimise the amount of time spent in prolonged sitting.
- Break up long periods of sitting as often as possible.
Stress reduction –
Activities that encourage regular cardiovascular participation such as walking, cycling, running and social engagement can help relieve daily stress. The 2014 Stress and Wellbeing Australia survey listed a range of strategies to support maintaining a healthy lifestyle:
Goal setting, planning & reward:
- Setting personal goals
- Finding ways to be healthy that fitted into lifestyle
Support mechanism:
- Support from work colleagues
- The support for lifestyle change from a community group or specific organisation (workplace)
Promotes general wellbeing –
Mental wellbeing is described by the World Health Organisation (WHO) as “the state in which the individual realises his or her own abilities, can cope with normal stresses of life, can work productively, and is able to make a contribution to his or her community.”
Elements that WIN focus on that contribute to a person’s wellbeing include:
- Health
- Sense of achievement and purpose
- Feeling part of the community