[Harumanbo Harucheonja] "Walking at work also brought my health back"

An Jung-jae, Samsung Biologics Group Leader
"Regained Health Through Walking... Will Keep Walking"

Samsung Biologics Runs 'Walking Challenge'
Various Other Health Promotion Programs Provided

[Asia Economy Reporter Chunhee Lee] "I regained my health through walking with great difficulty. Various health indicators have now returned to normal levels, and my body feels much lighter."

An Jungjae (44), Group Leader at Samsung Biologics, experienced significant health changes through walking. He said, "I originally had metabolic syndrome, overweight, and high blood pressure," adding, "But once I developed the habit of walking, my body naturally started to feel lighter." The trigger was a walking program organized by the company. Samsung Biologics operated a walking program last year that included a 'challenge' to form a habit of walking 10,000 steps a day, along with trekking and various other programs to add fun, all aimed at improving employees' health.

Since the goal was habit formation, the program started lightly with walking near the company, then gradually increased intensity by walking over 100,000 steps in a week, and group activities such as walking the trails around Incheon near the company. Various programs were operated step-by-step to ensure participants did not get tired and continued to participate. Through this, participants achieved an average of more than 10,000 steps per day.

Samsung Biologics employees, including Group Leader An Jeong-jae, are participating in a walking program together and taking a commemorative photo.

Group Leader An also expressed his determination to maintain his health by consistently keeping the walking habit created through the challenge. He said, "The hardest thing in the world is to do anything consistently, but doing it with colleagues by completing missions made it less difficult to achieve the goal," and added, "Having experienced the powerful effect of simple exercise like walking, I continue to practice walking steadily even now."

Among other participants, many employees also felt changes in their health like Group Leader An. A considerable number of employees experienced actual changes in numbers such as weight and blood pressure. They responded positively, saying, "It was a good opportunity to check how much I walk every day and to make walking a habit," "I usually felt weak-willed, but I was able to form a habit through this good opportunity," and "I will continue to practice walking and recommend it to those around me," showing they deeply felt the importance of the walking habit.

A Samsung Biologics official said, "Employees who participated in the health promotion program showed high satisfaction as they saw health improvement effects," and added, "This year, we will expand and improve programs such as the walking challenge so that more employees can participate."

Image of Samsung Biologics' 'Walking Challenge' program [Photo by Samsung Biologics]

In addition, Samsung Biologics operates various programs to promote employees' health. For employees who showed findings in health checkups, they run group exercise (GX) sessions led by professional instructors, including walking programs, and actively support health management by providing low-sodium meals in the company cafeteria. These programs are also planned to continue this year.

Regarding smoking, which must be given up for health, last year they conducted customized counseling based on smoking history and nicotine dependence in cooperation with the company’s affiliated clinic and the Incheon Yeonsu-gu Public Health Center. Through this, smoking status is regularly measured, and incentives such as prizes are given to participants who achieve their goals. Samsung Biologics reports that this also achieved considerable results and plans to continue related programs this year.

Furthermore, they manage employees' psychological health through mindfulness counseling services and take the lead in managing the health of employees' families by providing health checkups and medical expense support for family members. A Samsung Biologics official stated, "To improve quality of life, which is the driving force behind corporate growth, we plan to prepare and operate various health promotion programs going forward."