Victorinox does gymnastics three times a day: This is how companies ensure relaxation at work

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It is 8.30 in the morning. Production workers leave their workplaces at the Victorinox plant in Ibach SZ. They do stretching exercises for 5 minutes, breathe together or massage their shoulders themselves. The program is called “Balance Time” and has been performed two to three times a day at the traditional Swiss army knife maker for more than 20 years.

It’s not just factory workers who join in to save their hands from the same movements. Office staff also exercise, stretch and relax for a few minutes several times a day. The program is a model of success. Not only for the employees, but above all for the company. “Lost hours have been cut by more than half,” says Robert Heinzer, 64, Victorinox human resources manager.

Physical reaction after just a few minutes

The program is now used by Südostbahn SOB, Siemens and Confiserie Sprüngli, among others. So, are a few minutes of stretching exercises and mindfulness a day actually the solution for the chronically stressed Swiss working population? At least they are part of the solution, says Priska Gauger-Schelbert, 56, corporate health promotion expert and inventor of Balance Time at Victorinox and Co. “The brief change from ‘doing’ to ‘being’ allows my body to do nothing. It is no longer determined solely by stress hormones.”

But just a few gymnastic exercises a day are not enough. “It’s about a sense of personal responsibility,” Gauger-Schelbert emphasizes. “In companies that implement such a program, supervisors are more careful: How much will I charge people? “This leads to a chain reaction.”

Gymnastics exercises can also be counterproductive

If you overload your staff, you won’t be able to do much to prevent failure, even with stretching exercises. “In this case, such measures can even have negative effects, because the company management loses its credibility to seriously solve problems in the company,” Suva writes.

Instead, companies will need to take concrete measures to combat overload, such as hiring more staff. “Still, measures at the behavioral level can be a start for a company to actively address the health of its employees,” Suva continues.

It is now 16:30 at the Victorinox offices. A team leader trained in Balance Time takes his colleagues out onto the terrace. For several minutes, the team consciously looks into the distance rather than at the screen.

Source :Blick