TRENDS WELL, WELL, WELL… Healthy initiatives that merit a round of, er, paws
allows staff to take a paid “unsick day” once a year to undergo a medical.
Research indicates that a happy employee is a more productive one. It’s a view shared by PR firm Publicis and shoe retailer Zappos, which both employ chief happiness officers to nurture positivity. The latter firm even allows employees to dress as their favourite animals
during meetings.
“Zooglers” (employees at Google’s Zurich office) can enjoy fresh oxygen from the 100 plant varieties in their “jungle lounge” meeting room and take naps in specially designed bathtubs. To encourage staff to down tools at 5pm, the theme to kids’ TV show Heidi is broadcast
around the premises.
While it’s still common practice in the UK for employees to use annual leave for routine health checks, US company Zocdoc
Spot the novel fringe benefit: if a BrewDog employee
takes on a new pooch, they are entitled to a week’s paid leave to bond with their pet
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director.co.uk
The idea of an office slide won’t go down well with many but, gimmick or not, the helter-skelter at British IT firm Peer 1 Hosting ensures that the organisation stays
home testing kits for everything from cholesterol to STIs are up. High-end home fitness product sales are also rising – Peloton launched a treadmill last year retailing at £3,000. Or how about a £1,200 interactive mirror that streams live fitness classes and off ers you tailored advice? The market’s growing for cheaper alternatives too – Pinterest searches for “resistance-band workouts” rose 2,000 per cent last year.
healthily in the memory. “If people don’t go down it, they aren’t buying into the culture of the business,” said its chief designer, Sarah O’Callaghan.
Stroking pets has been shown to increase levels of “happy hormone” oxytocin. With this in mind, dogs are allowed in the of ice at both Amazon and Ben & Jerry’s. BrewDog, meanwhile, offers staff puppy leave – a week of paid holiday (or “pawternity”) – at home to help their new best friends settle in.
05 / HEALTH TO GO We can’t stay at home forever, though. Despite the advance of videoconferencing, expenditure on business travel continues to increase. Travellers and their employers are seeking ways to ensure their healthy performance on arrival. AI-powered virtual assistants such as 30SecondsToFly’s Claire can make long-haul jet-setting a less onerous experience, while hotel chains are starting to deliver hyper-personalised services – for instance, beds that will adjust to each guest’s firmness preference and even biometric bathroom tiles that will assess your state of health. Alternative hang-outs to the hotel bar are developing too, such as The Assemblage, a wellness-focused co-working space in New York.
06 / ANCIENT WISDOM Disillusioned with faddish health regimes, more and more consumers are looking back to a “wiser” age. There has been a 269 per cent increase in the number of food products using the word “ancient” on their packaging in the past five years, for instance. Ancient grains such as bulgur, millet and sorghum are gaining credence as a solution to gluten intolerance.
07 / MOOD FOOD Antioxidant-rich superfoods such as blueberries are so last year. It’s all about adaptogens now. Some of these herbs improve sleep (ashwagandha)
Neat root: adaptogen herb astragalus membranaceus has been clinically prescribed to treat stress-related illnesses
while others fight stress (astragalus) or aging (maca). A newly legal addition in the UK is cannabis-based CBD oil, which could enter the mainstream this year. Perhaps counterintuitively, it will power beverages purported to improve drinkers’ concentration.
Turn to p51 for information about the relaunch of the IoD’s Mental Health and Wellbeing in the Workplace campaign
08 / HEALTHIER TOGETHER Community and competition both have a positive eff ect on our health. Fitness could be the new communal leisure activity – only 12 per cent of Britons visited a bar or club last month, according to Mintel, yet 21 per cent went to a gym. Fitness First has recorded a significant increase in attendance at its gyms on Friday nights, while Right Path Fitness has just launched a “Date-ercise” class. The volunteer-led parkrun movement has become hugely popular. Many runners compare their times globally via tracker- based competitions such as Reebok’s Crossfit Games. As the tech gets smarter, how long before they start comparing their health stats too?
Logistical feat: the parkrun charity organises thousands of free events worldwide each week
ALAMY, DAILY ECHO / SOLENT NEWS, GETTY IMAGES
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