Some people are biking to work this week, to help launch the city’s 2018 Bike Month.
But 15 University of Guelph staffers have kicked it up a notch – they’re biking at work.
And in doing so, they’re saving time and pursuing wellness.
The employees are part of an initiative called Wellness Bikes, supported through the university’s new Wellness@Work grant program. It’s supporting 39 employee-driven projects designed to promote workplace health and wellbeing on the university’s main campus and at research stations. Through the program, faculty and staff implement tailored health-promoting programs, approaches or ideas in their workplace.
Wellness Bikes is a mini-fleet of three Regal cruiser two-wheelers that employees connected to the OMAFRA-U of G Agri-Food Partnership office at One Stone Road can sign out to help them efficiently get around campus.
It’s not that they don’t like walking. But travelling on foot from One Stone Road to locales such as Alumni House, the Arboretum or the Ontario Veterinary College for a meeting, event or resource can take 30 minutes.
When time is tight, employees may resort to jump in a car and drive, which has its own drawbacks (parking, environment, etc.).
“We've often talked about travel time to meetings being one of the things we find most challenging about the location of our office,” says Wellness Bikes group leader Melissa Watkins, manager of the partnership. “When we started to brainstorm potential Wellness@Work initiatives among staff in our office, it was an obvious opportunity to address a problem that hinders our efficiency and effectiveness at work, while improving our health and wellbeing through physical activity.”
She anticipates the bikes will be used for almost 250 trips this year, offset 140 kilometres of driving, and save up to 60 hours of staff time.
Wellness Bikes Users must participate in a training session. The bikes are maintained by volunteers.
One happy biker is Rebecca Moore, the partnership’s manager of communications and knowledge mobilization. During her graduate studies in Toronto, she biked 10 kilometres a day, regardless of the weather. And although Wellness Bikes was launched just last week, she’s already pedaled to three meetings.
“Part of our work is to help connect people to the research conducted through the OMAFRA-U of G partnership, and meeting with them is one way we do,” she says. “I love biking, and I look forward to going to a meeting I can bike to. The bikes are actually helping us mobilize knowledge.”
The university’s Wellness@Work initiative recently drew accolades from the Ontario Workplace Health Coalition.
“In addition to providing an outstanding example for other Ontario workplaces, [the University of Guelph] is are building a reputation for great leadership which will attract other top tier talent to your organization,” says Tracey Poulin Dun, an executive board member of the coalition. “Thank you for your leadership and stewardship you are demonstrating with your commitment to a comprehensive approach to workplace health.”
Learn more about the Wellness@Work initiative here.
