By Kelly Newman
Internal Communications & Social Responsibility Manager
November 2017

Can work really be good for your health?

Now the clocks have gone back and the days are getting shorter, it’s all too easy to snuggle under the duvet when the alarm clock sounds. As I crawl out of bed for work I find myself wondering: why am I doing this? (Apart from the obvious benefit of being able to pay my monthly bills.)

Well, it seems work really can be good for your health. Studies show that along with the financial reward, it helps many of us build our confidence, offers social interactions and for some, status.

Of course health doesn’t start and end with work and there’s a growing awareness of needing a healthy work-life balance too, to promote mental and physical wellbeing.

At Ikano Bank, co-worker wellbeing is a healthy part of our culture. Our senior leaders and team managers are encouraged to lead by example when it comes to their work-life balance and manage their working hours to avoid a ‘work-late’ culture. They use their full holiday entitlement and are instructed to switch off their phones and leave their laptops in the office when they go on leave. This is expected of all our co-workers, no matter their position.

One area where we – and many other employers in the UK – stumble is when it comes to taking lunch breaks. Our Swedish counterparts enjoy FIKA together every day – a tradition that brings all co-workers together for coffee and a chat (and sometimes cake) – but often UK workers just grab a quick sandwich to eat at their desks. In fact, research has found that less than a third of UK workers take an hour off for lunch and half work through lunch.

Ikano Bank Må Bra – ‘Ikano Bank Feeling Good’

At Ikano Bank we embrace our Swedish heritage at every opportunity, including FIKA… but in true Brit style we do it weekly (at best) or most likely, it becomes a monthly get together. To try to turn the tide we’re holding a week of wellbeing events in the office, to help people feel good physically and mentally. We all need to focus on our health and so Ikano Bank Må Bra – ‘Ikano Bank Feeling Good’, running from 6-10 November, will encourage our co-workers to take time out of their working day to relax, try some light exercise or just have a bit of fun.

Throughout Må Bra our co-workers can take part in various events:

They’ll get to make hearty soups in a soup-making masterclass and can earn free smoothies at the Pulp Friction Smoothie Bar, where the juicer is pedal-powered.
Yoga sessions will be running along with meditation taster sessions.
For something more high-energy boxing sessions will be available too.
Of course emotional resilience is vital to wellbeing - interactive ‘colour workshops’ will give our co-workers time and money-saving tips and a confidence-boost by helping them to identify what colours work for them.
Trained medics will also offer flu jabs to protect our co-workers for the winter months ahead.

On-going health and wellbeing

Må Bra is just one week of the year but it’s key to our wellbeing strategy, helping our co-workers get the right work/life balance and the best versions of themselves at work and at home. We have trained massage therapists on site every quarter, offering free massages to everyone who wants one. And we’re proud to have sponsored the Ikano Bank Robin Hood Marathon Events since 2012, promoting fitness and wellbeing not only to our co-workers but to their family and friends, through free running places every year. In 2017, 359 of our runners together covered more than 3,200 miles.

Earlier this year we held our second annual Ikano Health Week, which aims to get people moving every day. A charitable donation is made for every kilometre our co-workers walk, run or cycle. In 2016, 738 co-workers raised £88,000 for Rainbows Hospice for Children and Young People in Loughborough. This year, 904 co-workers took part, and covered 35,851 kilometres. €125,478 was raised for a refugee school in Thailand. Definitely a step in the right direction!

Our co-workers are the heartbeat of Ikano Bank and although there is no silver bullet to get the balance right, we feel making a combined effort during events such as Må Bra, Health Week and the Ikano Bank Robin Hood Marathon will help to establish new habits, which could change our co-workers’ lives for the better. Happy and healthy employees have a positive impact on productivity and a business’s effectiveness. By teaching our co-workers some useful techniques during Må Bra, to use every day, we hope to promote healthy working and more importantly, healthy living.

We're firm believers in the philosophy 'the more you put in, the more you get out' and invest in our co-workers to deliver our vision, to create possibilities for better living. Together we create retail finance solutions based on fair terms and simplicity that bring value to our customers. Ikano Bank has been partnering with UK retailers for over 20 years.

Get in touch to find out more about Ikano Bank Retail Finance @ www.ikano.co.uk/retail-finance/contact-us