Melville Company Tells Employees to Take a Walk...For Their Health

Let's face it, most of us spend our lunch break from work doing...well, nothing. A bite to eat, surfing the web, sleeping at the cubicle perhaps, but nothing all that active.  One local company is partnering with the American Heart Association to change all that. 

Leviton Manufacturing in Melville is encouraging their employees to get out there, and get walking.  The AHA was on hand Wednesday to celebrate National Start Walking Day,which promotes 30 minutes a day of walking to help the heart, and to live an overall healthier life.  And it all starts in the workplace.

"The recommendation is to walk 30 minutes a day," AHA regional director Juliette McKenna said.  "If we can walk during our lunch hour, that's fantastic, if employers can engage their employees and encourage them to do that, we would be very happy."

McKenna says studies have shown that for every hour a person walks, they add two hours to their lifespan.  Even walking in three-10 minute intervals each day can be of tremendous benefit to cardiovascular health.

"People know what they have to do, I think they just have to get started, and I think if organizations such as Leviton encourage their employees, it helps them to get started,"McKenna said.

National Start Walking Day is held the first Wednesday each April.  Leviton is leading the charge in Melville and at its locations nationwide, encouraging employees to bring their sneakers, and walk around the perimeter of their headquarters on their break.

"Leviton is very big on wellness, not just on the national level, but also on a global level," Leviton VP of Human Resources Fran Ruderman said.  "Whatever we can do to promote education on healthy heart living, that's what we're going to do."

The AHA has online tracking guides employers can use, to monitor staff and see what they're doing to stay fit in the office.  Reduced health care premiums are just one perk being offered to employees who decide to put down the sandwich and put on their sneakers at lunch. That's what Leviton is promoting, saying a fit employee is more productive, and happier overall. So what are the powers that be in the company telling their workers?

"To participate, get out there and move and to make it more of a habit and to do it more on an everyday basis or as frequent as possible," Ruderman said.

Just don't forget the sneakers.  A 30 minute walk in heels can be pretty rough, I've been told.