‘The Magic Porridge Pot’ – Northgate take part in Breakfast Challenge to Help Improve Health and Productivity
19 March 2009
Under-productivity, escalating sick days and poor concentration are some of the key business problems being tackled head on in a ‘Big Breakfast Business Challenge’ launched today by Flahavan’s, Ireland’s largest oat miller.Northgate signed up to encourage staff to have a healthy breakfast, Flahavan’s donated a week’s supply of porridge to the 117 employees that signed up.
The aim of the Challenge was to encourage new habits so that fewer people will skip breakfast
– something which has been found to have a detrimental impact on productivity, as well as often being linked with weight gain.
The Challenge was created in response to last month’s call by the Institution of Occupational Safety and Health (IOSH) for employers to do more to help staff get healthy in 2009 and to ‘create opportunities to enjoy a healthy lifestyle’.
There have been countless studies showing the benefits of a healthy breakfast for improved attentiveness, output and general well being, yet despite this there are equal numbers of studies claiming many people are continuing to skip breakfast.
117 employees based at Hillview house fully embraced Flahavan’s business challenge and after the week’s trail, the responses were very positive – not only office-based staff but from those who are mobile, such as our engineers and advisors, visiting schools and businesses throughout NI. Staff said they were more sustained throughout the morning, which helped them to snack less, and overall making them feel more motivated and focused.
