Seneca College’s EAP schooling remote workers on fitness

As remote working continues amid the ongoing coronavirus pandemic, Seneca College is increasingly promoting employee fitness.

“Employee fitness has always been a high priority for us, but with the pandemic we’ve been talking about it even more,” says Felisha Ali, project and program coordinator for leadership and employee development at Seneca.

She says staff have been encouraged to explore the fitness resources available through the college’s employee assistance program, a message also expressed by David Agnew, president of Seneca, in a regular newsletter.

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These resources include fitness tips and exercises that can be done without equipment or access to a gym, including routines that replace weights with objects like detergent boxes.

Seneca has also continued to offer employees a series of online sessions hosted by Goodlife Fitness Centres Inc., which cover a range of topics based on timely themes and employee feedback. One recent session covered personal ergonomics, an issue that many Seneca employees have inquired about while working from home, says Ali.

“It’s really thought out before the semester starts. We don’t just throw out information to our employees, we really think about the resources that we’re giving them.”

And with the college’s latest employee survey focusing on remote working, the additional feedback will help shape the employee fitness strategy in the months to come, says Caroline Grech, associate director of external relations and public affairs at Seneca. “There’s a huge recognition at Seneca that the work environment is much different now and we want to make sure employees know these resources are available.”

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