Positive Peer Pressure Encourages Taking Breaks
The staff of common guidance services, working on the central campus, ensure that Tuesday afternoons are dedicated to group exercise. “The best part is that everyone comes out of their rooms and exercises together,” says student counsellor Sini-Maria Siren. The shared activity not only improves physical well-being but also strengthens team spirit and social interaction within the workplace.
“During the break, you truly disconnect from work when you join this shared exercise moment.”
-Sini-Maria Siren
Coordinator Arja Liikanen reminds us that group exercise breaks have been part of their routine even before the pandemic: “We have a long tradition of exercising together. We used to do it twice a week before COVID. It’s wonderful that these shared moments are being organized again.”
Organize a Shared Exercise Session for Your Team – It’s Easier Than You Think
Organizing a shared exercise session for your work group is surprisingly simple. In the common guidance services, they first joined Boost Break in the break room in front of a shared screen. Gradually, colleagues from other teams also started to join the exercise group, which is exactly the goal of this shared movement session!
The group has promoted the shared break within their teams, welcoming everyone to participate. On Tuesdays, they remind colleagues in the hallway that it’s exercise day. The staff also tries to schedule afternoon customer meetings 15 minutes later, at 2:15 pm, to allow time for the exercise break.
“One time, a student even spontaneously joined our exercise when they came to handle a matter at the service desk. They took care of their issue and exercised with us at the same time,” Liikanen says with a smile. This shows how easy it is to create a sense of community through small actions.
A Bigger Screen Enables a Shared Exercise Break
A movable screen placed in the hallway allowed more colleagues to join the shared exercise session. “The screen has been a big help for us. It made it possible for everyone who wanted to join when the break room became too crowded,” Siren explains. Although the screen is sometimes used for events, it’s always there on Tuesdays, ready for the exercise break. Large screens are available in many break rooms and meeting spaces, so they should be used to organize shared exercise sessions.
With this inspiring example, we want to encourage other teams and departments to incorporate a shared exercise break into their workday – it brings both physical and mental well-being!
“Requests have also been made for a second weekly Boost Break. We will see if we can arrange one, at least on a trial basis, as part of the Students on the Move project.”
-Project coordinator Sini Karsa
Boost Break
What? Break exercise session for Tuni community
When? Tuesdays from 2.00 pm to 2.15 pm
Where? In Zoom. Upload event to your calendar from Intranet event
Students on the Move
Student on the Move program brings more physical activity into the daily life of universities. The program directly impacts the well-being of both students and staff.
The Students on the Move project was launched in August 2024. The project aims to make study and workdays more active while testing and embedding proven practices into the daily life of our universities. The goal of the project is to reinforce the perspective that taking care of one’s well-being is both encouraged and essential at Tampere Universities.
Read more from SportUni’s Students on the move -website