After a day of innovating at work, one of the last things many people want to do is sit in traffic waiting to get home. In Lagos, Nigeria – this is often what happens as the traffic creeps along resulting in over an hours’ worth of commute time. Vivian Agu, a Cisco Virtual Sales Account Manager in Nigeria, and her co-workers decided to take matters in their own hands instead, and as they were also looking for ways to become more active and healthy they thought this was the prime time to begin working out together.
This is how ActiveCisco was born. “We meet on Mondays, Wednesdays, and Thursdays for one hour where we do vigorous workout routines with a team from Truppr who guides us, “ say Vivian, “So, now instead of sitting in traffic for an hour or more – we’re working out together and connecting outside of our office hours. It’s really becoming a type of team bonding for us!”
What started out as 10 Cisconians that focused on various methods of working out from cardio to yoga, has now grown to 20 participants. It surprised the group that even though their meetings had begun as a way to become more active during rush hour, it was also the perfect activity to unwind after the work day and it evolved into a space where they could really get to know one another further.
Says Vivian, “This has shown us a whole new side to our co-workers, there is a different light to everyone who is in the group as people let go during the routines. It’s not just about work, anymore. We now know more about each other’s personal lives and goals – this has helped us to grow even closer and has enabled us to have more open conversations in both our professional and personal lives.”
This has also led to a more relaxed feel around the office as yoga has been incorporated into their time working out together, but Vivian says their ability to joke around with another has helped aid in being a stress reliever as well. “There is a different attitude with each other. More stress has been released, we’re not stressed while we sit in traffic, and it has shown us a great work/life balance as we all work on our goals together.”
As the group continues to grow, their goals do as well and they’d like to spark some healthy competitions with other Cisco co-workers around the globe who are working out together to motivate one another and make their efforts more lively – maybe even inspire some senior management to become more involved as well. 😉 With how dedicated our co-workers in Nigeria are, we know there are endless possibilities for them to ensure a fit and healthy lifestyle that translates to a better work experience around the office too.
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Way to go team, once there is a will there is a way! proudly OneCiscoNigeria….
I guess I’ll have to bring my gym kit when I visit in a few weeks 🙂
Yes Boss! We would be thrilled to have you join us!
Be sure to take photos!
Sure! Work life balance can never be over emphasized. To perform optimally at work, the body and mind have to be in synch! #CiscoNigeria #FitFam
This is really a wonderful initiative. There is nothing like a good work/life balance. Good job, Vee!
This is awesome, I strongly agree with you, do not sit in that traffic, work out…
Yay! Mama I made it! That’s me on ‘Cisco blog’!
This is great!
I’d love to see something like this happen in RTP – an all-inclusive program that takes into consideration people’s level of fitness and encourages not only a healthy balance but getting to know one another beyond “I’m an IT support engineer.”