Each week, ICBA’s Jordan Bateman reflects on what we’ve learned as we participate in ICBA’s Workplace Wellness Program. This program is free for all ICBA members – check out icba.ca/wellness for details.
This month, ICBA Wellness looks at the link between mind and body, and how our diet and physical health can impact our mental health.
I can’t help but think of the work being done by Lincor Enterprises, one of our amazing ICBA members. Under the leadership of president Jon Walker, Lincor launched an industrial athlete program – helping their painters prepare for work. From the Journal of Commerce:
[Walker] teamed up with injury treatment experts Harry Hosker and Elliott Usher of Boot Room Consulting to create Lincor’s Industrial Athlete program.
The program starts with getting every participating employee’s health baseline with a screening at the UBC Allan McGavin Sports Physiotherapy clinic.
“Then they see where you are at, set goals to improve mobility, reduce injuries and design an individual stretching regime,” said Walker.
Participants check in every six months and weekly surveys are done to track progress and effectiveness. Lincor also worked to make the program accessible through Zoom, phone or text during working hours to be as convenient as possible.
The program also extends to the jobsite where crews perform warm-up and cool-down routines together rather than jumping into and out of work.
“Guys come in the morning and they start moving 50-pound paint buckets,” said Walker. “You wouldn’t go play hockey like that, so we thought why are people going to work every day and not doing that? It is crazy.”
Walker said crews started out feeling self-conscious about doing stretches and exercises together to start the day on large jobsites with other trades watching. But he noted now it has turned into one of the company’s most important team building tools.
Great stuff!
ICBA’s Workplace Wellness Program is helping more than 50 companies, and thousands of construction professionals, better understand mental health. The program is free for ICBA members — see icba.ca/wellness.