It is scientifically proven and generally known that exercise at work prevents illness and stress. The management of Heusch/Boesefeldt has tried to counteract back problems which are common among people performing a desk job a long time ago: since 2018 company sports are offered on a regular basis. Originally supported and encouraged by the Techniker Krankenkasse (health insurance company), this idea was gladly accepted by the staff. With the physiotherapeutic practice Terstappen we started our company sport. The regularly high attendance figures spoke for themselves.
During the first lockdown, the employees took over the management of the sport lesson on their own. Even at that point they performed via Microsoft teams, since the vast majority of the colleagues were in the home office. However, the participation decreased gradually, since the professionalism in the execution was missing. After the end of the lockdown, the Terstappen practice took over the training on site again until the Covid numbers lead to another partial lockdown.
In order to be able to keep up the company sport, the physiotherapeutic practice has introduced the "active break" via video conference on the screen. Guided by a physiotherapist, two groups of 15 people each can complete the half-hour online courses via Microsoft teams at their desks - regardless of whether they are on company premises or working at home.  The group size remains manageable, so that the physiotherapist can still see whether the exercises are being performed correctly. Exercises behind the desk against long-term after-effects of muscle and back tension - for many participants of the campaign the ideal prevention against typical office diseases. And the compensatory movement is particularly useful for workplaces at home, which are not always optimally equipped.
The WDR Aachen (broadcasting station) found the "Active break" of the Terstappen practice interesting enough to shoot a short reportage. The shooting took place at Heusch/Boesefeldt, among others. This should be an incentive for other companies to integrate the initiative into their daily work.
On December 1st the documentary was broadcasted in the "Lokalzeit aus Aachen". Missed the show? Here is the Link to watch the report on YouTube.