“Exhale as you step your feet apart and turn your foot 90 degrees and reach up for the sky,” this is something you might hear at the Leadin UK office.
We all know exercising is good for us, but often it’s side-lined by excuses of being too busy. In fact, it’s statically proven that people who exercise regularly have more energy. Doing team exercises is one of the initiatives from our team in the UK to enhance the office environment. Nowadays one might find us doing yoga poses, or simple stretches or even doing a plank to the song Roxanne.
Exercising in an office environment is well-known in countries such as Japan. The concept derives from Samurai warriors, whose two skills were of utmost importance; swordsmanship and calligraphy. These skills were to be mastered over a long time and one would not work well without the other. If one stopped training, one would rapidly lose one’s skill.
Now we may not be perfecting our swordsmanship, but exercising is known to train the brain to be more flexible and boosts creativity. Even though it may only take around 5 minutes of exercise at the office, it strengthens the team building and motivates productivity. Our exercising is also contagious – one day last week a senior member of one of our International clients decided to join in – I bet he never thought he would be doing a plank before his meeting! It’s noticeable that the office has become even more of an open environment that promotes communication. Another benefit is that we learn about new exercises as well, as we take turns to lead the exercises.
It’s often the simple things such as this that can make the biggest impact in a workplace. Team building can come in many forms, but when you think of it, it really just takes some creativity and a team willing to participate.
We continually look for more things to improve the work culture. Occasionally we even hold themed luncheons where we bring in food to share after our exercises of course. ;)
You can check out some of our exercises photos on our social channels: facebook and twitter.
