The journey of corporate well-being dates back to the 1970s when the term “welfare” translated to a company committing to providing basic safe working conditions, annual leave and sick pay. Fast forward to 2020 – we are now in a decade that champions corporate well-being, with many companies placing it at the top of the boardroom agenda. Research has shown that there are many benefits to instilling workplace wellness such as; creating a productive working environment, encouraging work-life balance, reducing work-related stress and bringing teams together.
At the core of Cubic’s culture is the promotion of well-being initiatives. For a small to medium-sized company our Senior Leadership Team ensures that we have a wellness programme to rival that of other leading tech companies – proving that minimal investment can produce effective results. One initiative that Cubic continues to promote is healthy nutrition through plant-based eating.
In late 2019 Cubic Telecom was one of the first companies in Ireland to introduce a full plant-based nutrition programme for its employees with help from Clodagh Thomas of Clo & Co. The programme comprised of breakfast, lunch, and dinner being provided for employees as well as recipes and access to an expert in the industry!
Plant-based eating has been somewhat topical in recent months and a buzzword that we’re seeing more of. There is no doubt that there are tangible benefits to eating more whole foods, plants, and vegetables. Benefits include a healthier heart, weight loss, lower risk of disease and increased energy levels.
With the help of the experts, we put clean eating to the test, below is an employees’ account of his journey only eating plant-based foods for the month of January.
“I decided to do the plant-based diet as an experiment to see if it helped with anti-inflammatory issues, sinus problems and to a lesser extent bloating and general health benefits. For me, the full month commitment was the only way to make sure I had every chance of seeing positive results (if there were any).
Going plant life was never on my radar in the past and I never expected I would do it for a full month without straying back to meat life even once. When I thought of Vegans or Vegetarians in the past, I could never really understand why they do it and that I could ever attempt or want to do something similar. I was never a big veg eater and I was 16 before I started to eat peas, which brought me to a full total of two veg, lettuce, and peas. Sad but true but over the years I’ve grown to like a lot more plant-based foods – even cabbage and sprouts which I think is a big achievement. Before this month, I’d never gone a day without meat or fish except when I was in a hospital on a drip for 3 days fasting with no food allowed (no matter how bad I wanted chicken wings).
The biggest benefit I noticed from the diet was that I was far less tired in the evening time. In the past come 9/9:30 pm I was barely able to keep my eyes open but now it’s like someone turned on a switch and as if by the speed of light, the tiredness was turned off! I can only put this change down to my body having to work less hard processing meat and dairy in the evening and robbing me of my energy. Another benefit was weight loss. Even though I didn’t weigh myself during the 30 days, I noticed a difference for sure, as I’ve slipped back another notch on my belt and my co-worker has mentioned a few times that he has noticed a difference.
So, will I continue to stay on the plant life? Probably not. Although I don’t have a compulsion to start planning my next steak meal topped off with a real cheesecake and a bailey’s. But I am thinking I will keep doing a few things from the diet. Like go off dairy, that seems easy for me to do and I don’t feel like I would miss much. I will also add a lot more veg into my meal plans and reduce the meat intake and most likely go some days without having meat at all. All this is now possible to contemplate and plan. Only for Clo & Co providing breakfast, lunch, and dinner with Cubic subsidising the plan – I never would have embarked on the plant-based journey alone.” Arran Kehoe
You can also check out how our plant-based trial went via our social media here and here.
