Creating a corporate culture of wholesome wellness

Manjula Ramakrishnan

Tim Garrett is the founder of Corporate Wellness Co. and propagates the theory that a healthy and fit employee adds greater value to his organisation. “There is nothing that gives my team and me a greater feeling of happiness and satisfaction than the moment we see, hear and feel the impact we have on people’s lives,” says Tim, speaking to Panorama about the importance of corporate wellness.

Tim Garrett (right), founder of Corporate Wellness Co.

What prompted you to launch Corporate Wellness Company?

A terrible thyroid imbalance shook my life violently, creating a chain of health problems. Despite being in the health and fitness industry for over 16 years at that time, I searched for the best health advice in the world. This was when I came across Ray Peat Ph.D and his advice was life changing, helping me recover from hypothyroidism and experience the wonderful quality of life as I do today. I therefore wanted the message of good health and fitness to transform people’s lives. With this objective in mind came about Corporate Wellness Co that runs corporate wellness programmes for leading organisations in the Middle East. The philosophy behind our programmes is to drive real behaviour change, habit by habit and to bring about a tangible difference in people’s lives. A bonus on the side will be lesser medical claims and better bottom lines for companies.

How important is corporate wellness?

Fitness is the mantra in every sphere of life, be it for private individuals, companies, businesses; it is a non-negotiable component of life. A CFO’s search is to reduce costs, improve profits; corporate head honchos constantly look for ways to think outside the box in a bid to raise productivity and also truly to give something back to their team. Therefore, corporate wellness is becoming very popular globally; every year more awards are created within companies to promote fitness and social media is dedicated to programmes that help staff be healthier and happier in the industry. 

How does one shake off that lethargy on a busy week day and allot time for fitness?

With good health and fitness on your side, the effects are incredible. Creating time for a sensible exercise regime is an investment that will keep you in good stead in the long run. One overriding benefit is that you increase the vital repair hormones, progesterone and pregnenolone, hormones that directly reduce stress hormones such as cortisol and adrenaline. This then improves the health of the cell and the cell’s health is your health, your body comprising trillions of them! Without fitness, disease and degeneration of body cells and parts occur, leading to poor quality of life and a difficult old age.

How can one continue exercising during the long summer months?

There are fun places in Dubai to exercise like Dubai Sports World at the Dubai World Trade Centre. Many malls have walking clubs and allow people in before they open at 10 am. Ski Dubai is great for a cool down. You just have to select what will work for you and not allow summers to offer an excuse for inactivity.

Tell us more about the importance of eating right.

If remaining focused and enabling high performance is important to you, then eating regular meals to maintain balanced blood sugar levels is essential. When you leave long gaps, you create high stress hormones, which in turn ruins your ability to concentrate, remain calm and focused. Eating cellular energy boosting nutrients is also vital; for example when you get the right sources of sugar – such as those food groups that contain a good deal of potassium, research shows that this is more powerful than insulin for it controls blood sugar levels, enabling you to work hard for extended periods and not wilt from fatigue.

What do you offer as part of your Corporate Wellness programmes?

We run Wellness Experiences named thus because they are approximately 60 per cent activity based, they are always fun and we cover subjects as diverse as ergonomics and fitness to happiness and hormones. We also do three-month rolling wellness programmes with tests at the start that help us determine where we are headed and tests when we finish the programme to see the real results. Nestled in the middle from start to end are some great initiatives like health coaching and step-wise challenges that slowly but surely paves the way for greater fitness and enhanced health.

How do companies benefit by enrolling their employees in the programme?

It is truly a win-win for both the employer and the employee for the results are tangible. There soon spreads a corporate culture of fitness leading to better productivity, happier employees and attracting the best talent due to such a healthy working environment.