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a gold! |
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| CEO Lee Yi Shyan joining staff for a game of table tennis. |
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From low-impact activities like tree-top walks
to physical sports such as futsal to social
activities like salsa and health talks, International
Enterprise (IE) Singapore makes every effort
to ensure that there is something for everyone.
The agency, which won the gold Singapore
HEALTH (Helping Employees Achieve Life-Time
Health) Award this year, shares more winning tips.
Said Mr Mark Hong, Acting Director, Corporate Events
and Resources Group: “Our senior management
strongly believes in encouraging IE Singapore staff
to live more balanced lives by pursuing healthy
lifestyles and cultivating passions outside of work.”
Mr Hong is also Chairman of the Workplace Health
Promotion (WHP) Committee at IE Singapore.
Besides urging staff participation, engaging
supervisors’ support and recognising staff efforts
in organising activities, management staff are also
good role models. They lead in practice runs, join in
the activities and chair the WHP Committee. They
also ensure that ample resources are committed
to provide good recreation facilities, subsidies for
health checks and incentive schemes for sporting
activities, just to name a few.
Support from middle management is also
critical for a WHP programme to succeed. IE
Singapore’s supervisors allow their staff to leave
the office earlier to attend practice sessions,
and consciously manage workload and meeting
times, so that staff can go off early for practice
runs and monthly IE Challenges (games).
Any staff can approach the WHP Committee with
ideas for activities and receive funding if they
are approved. In fact, staff have taken the lead
in organising many activities, such as cycling trips
and dance classes. What’s more — they are usually
successful in getting many colleagues to participate!
IE Singapore tracks the impact of its activities
on staffs’ health by conducting health checks at
the start of the year to identify health issues to
address, and at the end of the year to evaluate the
results. The participation rate of activities and key
health indicators like medical leave records and
staffs’ cholesterol levels are also monitored.
Reflecting on the key lessons from promoting
workplace health, Mr Hong said: “Social
and sporting activities are great ways to
encourage bonding between senior and junior,
and mature and younger staff. Diversity in
activities encourages greater staff participation.
You need to empower staff to organise activities
of interest to solicit different ideas.”
One of the best ways to tell if a corporate
programme is successful is to ask its staff. IE
Singapore staff have many positive things to say
about the WHP programme.
“Prior to joining IE, I would never have
dreamed that being a mother four times over, I
would learn to play tennis and table tennis, take
up a scuba diving course and cycle more than
100 km on Malaysian roads,” said Ms Lilian Choo,
Assistant Director, Internal Audit Unit.
Enthused another active participant, Senior
Officer Meena Chandra from Export Promotion
Division: “Since I joined IE, the concept of healthy
living and working has truly become a reality.
Staff are encouraged to join a range of fun-filled
activities. I especially love our monthly ‘eat fruit’
day, when a plethora of luscious fruits are provided
after lunch for staff to dig in, and for free!!! What
more can one ask for?” |
