Having an on-site gym is becoming increasingly common, as companies recognise the need to keep their staff happy, healthy and productive. For the staff, having a gym on the premises gives flexibility – and deprives them of any real excuse for not donning their lycra and hitting the treadmill. A win-win situation, you’d think.
But no. According to the Washington Post, there are a myriad of pitfalls awaiting the corporate exerciser. Consider this. You hobble down to the gym, still a bit stiff and sore from yesterday’s exercise efforts, only to find your main work rival pounding the treadmill like a latter day Zola Budd. How small is that going to make you feel? And just imagine the embarrassment of hitting the gym to sweat out last night’s curry – only to find the chief executive there, blithely training for his next Iron Man challenge ...
The challenges of remaining professional with colleagues become more complex still when you share a gym. And although you may feel all corporate and “can-do” in your power suit, you may not feel quite so dynamic in your tracky bottoms and that tee- shirt you wear for decorating.
The matter of gym conversation is usually a simple one. A bit of a chat about the exercise routine and its challenges should do the trick. But what happens when it’s a colleague on the next cardio machine? Do you succumb to the urge to talk shop? There’s also the risk that people who’ve been trying to track you down on work-related matters will corner you in the gym, refusing to accept that this is “your” time.
So it’s up to you. Enticing as on-site exercise facilities may sound, it might actually be worth forking out for membership of a gym far, far away from your colleagues.
