Healthy living at Magna

12/2/2009

Staff at one of Dorset’s largest housing companies have undergone free health MOT checks.

Employees from Magna Housing Group took advantage of a special health fair at its headquarters in Hollands House, Dorchester.
Organised by the Dorset Area Group of the Chartered Institute of Housing (CIH), the event was run by lifestyle experts from Healthy Living Wessex (HLW).

Visitors had the chance to discuss all sorts of subjects with advice available on stopping smoking, losing weight, diet, blood pressure, cholesterol and exercise programmes.

Weymouth-based HLW run health fairs across the county, helping both staff improve their fitness and employers to save money and boost productivity.

Kevin Dey from the CIH, explained: “Health at work has become a big issue in recent years as employers look to tackle the problem of staff sickness.

“In a recent CBI report it was revealed that more than 172 million working days were lost to sickness in Great Britain last year, costing the country more than £13 billion.

“For a small investment, such as one of these health fairs, companies can start to support their staff and tackle the serious issue of lost productivity. In comparison to the initial outlay, the long term benefits are huge.”

He added: “There are all sorts of options available to organisations, especially with the support of HLW.

“With their help, firms can set up regular activities such as walks, sports events and jacket potato days, through to locating funding to build staff gyms, purchasing company bicycles as an alternative to cars and many other things.”

Magna director Debby Wheatley said the organisation was pleased to host the event, which she described as ‘very successful’.

“Lifestyle and health matters are obviously important subjects,” she explained, “and the fair was a fantastic way of introducing people to healthy lifestyles.

“As a large employer, the welfare of our staff is something we take very seriously and we were delighted to support this successful event.”