du employees step out for better health

Promoting good health is important to du. Part of the telecom company’s Corporate Social Responsibility objective is dedicated towards encouraging its employees to be more healthy, a notion that is reinforced through du’s participation in the Global Corporate Challenge.

The Global Corporate Challenge (GCC) is a worldwide initiative with the objective of bringing more activity into the lives of office-bound employees, while also building colleagues’ ties through teamwork and a positive competitive spirit.

“We value our employees’ health, and stress the importance of occupational health throughout our company,” said Dr. Mansoor Anwar, Director - Medical and Occupational Health Services, du. “There are already health-boosting factors in place that our colleagues can benefit from, such as our in-house clinic, a smoke-free working environment, swimming pool and gym facilities, but we like to encourage our employees to get active as much as possible. A little bit of friendly competition is the ideal motivation to get people up and moving, which is why we instigated participation in the Global Corporate Challenge.”

This is the first time that du has participated in the GCC, with 35 teams of seven members each having signed up – . Each of the competitors were issued with two GCC pedometers in May (one for himself and the other to pass on to a friend or family member to spread the awareness), with the daily target of reaching 10,000 steps, which is then recorded on the GCC website. Swimming and cycling efforts can also be included. Each individual’s steps are tallied to create a team total and then converted to a kilometer/mile distance, with the team’s overall progression plotted out onto a virtual tour of the world. The more active you are, the further you go, and for each destination the team manages to reach they are able to interact virtually with the country to experience its customs, history, geography and more.

There are various prizes that can be won, though the overall intention of the GCC is to encourage activity in a fun manner. 

“The GCC aligns very neatly with our own efforts to bring more activity into our colleagues’ lives,” added Dr. Mansoor. “Through this initiative and our own in-house endeavors, we hope to highlight the health benefits that come with exercising – not only is it good for your body, but the GCC’s ‘virtual tour’ component is stimulating for the mind, too.”

The Global Corporate Challenge (GCC), now in its eighth year, is the world’s leading corporate health initiative. Established in Australia by former Australian Olympic Champion Herb Elliot, advertising executive Glenn Riseley and Australian nutritionist Shane Bilsborough MSc (Human Nutrition), the programme has benefitted almost 300,000 participants from more than 1000 of the world’s leading organisations in over 65 countries. This year, 150,000 corporate employees are participating from across the globe.