Huffington Magazine Issue 60 | Page 54

HUFFINGTON 08.04.13 COURTESY OF PROMEGA CORP. CORPORATE ZEN which these pursuits have reversed the usual dynamic. In many companies, employees sneak off to the gym with a sense of guilt. At Promega, it’s the desk-chained set that harbors a sense of doing it wrong. “No one ever really pressures you to be fit, but you see how much effort people put into being fit,” says Mike Rosenblatt, who dropped 50 pounds after joining a company-organized weight loss class at the Wellness Center. “Unless you embrace it, too, you’re almost on the outside looking in.” Some here say organizing life around exercise has made them more concentrated and focused. Monika Wood, a scientist who oversees data projects, rides her bicycle between work and home, a trip of 16 miles that takes her about an hour. The exertion not only keeps her fit, but also places an imperative on being more organized while helping her avoid procrastinating. “I tend to get all my things done much more efficiently,” Wood says, “because I don’t want to bike home in the dark.” A HEALTHY SUBSTITUTE Five years ago, after the birth of her second daughter, Lucy Kubly, the executive assistant, found herself chronically devoid of energy. “I was struggling all morning,” Kubly says. “Then, 1 o’clock would hit and I’d feel like I was not getting anything done. I’d find myself staring at a blur of email, just looking and not really doing anything.” She often recharged with a can of Promega employees participate in a wall yoga class — one of a variety of different yoga classes available to anyone working at the company’s campus.