4 Ways To Create A Health And Wellness Program At Work From Scout Books

Qigong is all about engagement and mindfulness, promoting a better understanding of how we should be using our bodies, especially if we’re standing at a desk or working at a printing press for long hours, turning, bending down and lifting paper. It’s been so helpful to get people connected to themselves (there’s many emails, and it’s difficult to turn away from the small tasks), and it’s done a lot to help prevent injuries.

"It’s been fun to see how many poses in Qigong transfer to standing at your desk! I’ve certainly noticed how my wrists are at the right height and I’m getting the most of my day from having proper posture."

2. Rewarding healthy behavior

Our employee surveys also revealed that many employees were keen to have preventative health and wellness activities paid for by the company. We are now in a testing phase of an initiative that provides some reimbursement for those activities, including gym memberships, yoga, massage, fitness classes and anything that improves health and well being. So far, thanks to our staff’s input, it’s going well.

3. Recognizing everyone’s workspace needs are different

We’ve implemented periodic self ergonomics assessments, taking a good look at the shop tools, the desks and chairs, even the keyboards and mice we use on a regular basis. These studies confirmed what we already knew about our staff—that everybody’s needs were different. As such, everyone's set up was slightly ill-fitting in one way or another, and we were trying to remedy this with insufficient workarounds. Since we come in all shapes and sizes, the flexibility of Fully’s furniture was an ideal fit. Some of us primarily stand throughout the day, while others definitely prefer to sit more.

I’m excited to finally have my keyboard at the right height. And having the ability to move between sitting to standing in my Capisco couldn’t have come at a better time since, either from biking or not stretching enough, I’ve had some back problems. Getting that support and variation in my day has been great!.

The desk shelves have done away with our staff’s various workarounds to get monitors to the right height. The chairs are much more adjustable than our old ones, so it's easier to sit at the correct height, not too high or low, which previously had caused a strain on the wrists. 

4. Creating an inspiring place to work

Creativity is an anchor of our business. It’s been a part of our work and our culture since the beginning. There’s a quote by Charles Eames, “The details are not the details, they make the design.,” that really sums up our approach to manufacturing and design. We translate that into practice, not just in our books, but to the details throughout the shop that can then create an inspiring work environment.Great things happen when you pay attention to the details of your work environment, with thoughtful touches that are otherwise easily overlooked. Sure, your business can have a break room, with a sink and a place to sit, and lights. But when you add colour, interesting things to look at, and incorporate an abundance of natural elements (we like plants and lots of natural light), a break room becomes so much more! It’s a place where people can go not just to get away from work, but to rejuvenate and to be inspired so that when they return to work, they come back energised and engaged.