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MDi In Shape

Posted January 8 by Thomas Fowlkes in Business of Business

James Ellis has seen a huge improvement in the energy level of his employees at MDi media group over the past four months.

Ellis, the company's president, noticed that employees seemed stressed out and wanted to do something about it.

"This particular time in business has been really intense with the kind of economic issues we're facing, and my team was beginning to show signs of stress," he said. "We work hard for our clients. We're winning the war and the battle for them, but I didn't want it to be at a cost to their health and wellness."

Taking a proactive approach, Ellis offered exercise and fitness outlets to his employees. As a team, a number of them will be participating in the First Light Marathon on Jan. 10.

In addition to paying the registration fees for employees who will participate in the marathon, the company is also picking up the tab for private boot camp classes from fitness instructor Richard Bonham.

Employees were also given the opportunity to leave work an hour early to participate in the weekly class.

With 26 employees participating in the Bayfest 5K in September, Ellis said at least a dozen people are running in the marathon. Others are either walking or doing a run/walk combination.

In addition to the boot camp classes, some team members run independently throughout the week.

"Several times a week we try to do our longer interval runs together," said Gina Gregory, public relations director for the company. "We also meet up, weather permitting, on Saturdays and we also run immediately after boot camp."

Participants have not only lost weight, but have seen other benefits as well, Gregory said.

Many of our employees say they feel better, are less stressed and it's easy to see a change in attitude — everyone seems to have brighter personalities," Gregory said. "When folks are feeling stressed, instead of binge snacking, they might grab an apple and walk around the block. Some are scheduling a run or another form of exercise in the middle of the day instead of eating lunch.

"Our employees have requested more healthy snacks around the office and almost to the person, the group has been inquiring about not only how we can continue the weekly workout, but what other races we might participate in this spring. We're not looking at this as a short-term beginning or as a means to participate in one event. Instead, we view this as a sustainable lifestyle change here at the office and in our personal lives as well."

Ellis has also noticed a difference in his employees. "I've noticed we're all learning together and reprogramming ourselves and reprogramming lifestyle choices," he said.

Article by Cassandra McAboy, Mobile Press Register. Reprinted with permission.

For the original article, please visit al.com.