Tech Park launches 'Fitnezz Week'

Being part of the IT community in India has its pros and cons. A big problem is that the IT workforce of the country suffers more than its fair share of health-related problems.

According to doctors, the ills that can befall a coder can range anywhere from boredom in being confined to the office to high stress levels due to constant deadline pressures. Then there is the somewhat more dangerous Carpal Tunnel Syndrome.

If anything, the BPO community suffers more ill health, including voice loss, constant fatigue and sometimes even experiences major changes to personality.

Thus, company attention to the individual health of employees is a high priority. Unless this is monitored, individual illnesses can have wider consequences by affecting general morale.

Highlighting this need to maintain the general health of the IT professional, the International Tech Park has announced a 'Fitnezz Week', four days of health programmes which will end with participants climbing the 13 floors of the Discoverer building.

"As the Indian economy matures, it is only natural that people will start paying attention to the finer points of life, and health is one of them. This event will address a holistic view of health as applicable to individuals," says Jonathan Yap, CEO of ITPL.

The first of its kind, the event is directed at different companies at the same address and is driven by an increasing awareness of the problems peculiar to the IT community. ITPL plans to conduct more such events and activities in the future.

While it is IT companies themselves that will have to foster employee fitness in the long run, Yap believes that such 'community' initiatives will help get the message across to them faster.

Infineon for one has taken the idea seriously. Thomas Simonis, MD of Infineon, makes it a point to climb the stairs of the ITPL building everyday to get to his workplace. By setting that simple example, he encourages many of his employees to take up their own personal fitness routines and stick to them on an everyday basis.

Such innovations are necessary for ITPL companies as the floor space cost of gyms is high and they do not have the luxury of gyms within the campus the way Infosys and MphasiS can provide.

While facilities are important, the idea of fitness goes much beyond just a workout, however regular it is.

The concept of health is a very personal one which should include everything from the food you eat to the attitude you choose and therefore has to be cultivated as a mindset rather than as a mere physical routine. It is this mindset, rather than individual regimens or diets, that the event is seeking to cultivate.

Amplifies Yap, "At the end of the day, a corporate can only point the way and set the points in front of its employees. The decision to move along the path to fitness rests with the individual themselves."

Feel privileged, feel healthy

• Take frequent breaks from your system. Ideally, these breaks should involve some kind of activity. If your company has a gym facility, use it; if not, just take a walk out in the open.
• Even if you cannot move from your system to a large extent, make sure that you look away from the monitor every 20 minutes for at least 10 seconds.
• Consciously try to blink as many times as possible when in front of the monitor
• Try and drink as much water as possible and avoid caffeine
• And last but not the least, as you belong to a sunshine industry with boundless prospects, feel happy. That takes you a long way down the road to healthy living.