Address by Dr Amy Khor, Senior Minister of State for Health and Manpower, at the launch of the Healthy Workplace Ecosystem at one-north

Distinguished Guests

Ladies and Gentlemen

Introduction

1.    I am happy to be here today at the launch of the new Healthy Workplace Ecosystem at one-north. I applaud one-north’s step in promoting healthy living initiatives among its tenant community, joining other such health promoting ecosystems in the Mapletree Business City and the Ascendas business clusters.

2.    With more than 60% of Singapore’s population in the workforce, the workplace has always been an important setting for us to engage Singaporeans in achieving greater health and wellbeing. This is especially since working adults may find that they have fewer opportunities to keep healthy, given the time they spend at work. Workplace health programmes will therefore help our working population stay healthy, productive and happy.

3.    Business clusters, such as one-north, are excellent platforms to reach our working population. With the high concentration of working adults within a geographical area, we are able to implement a variety of programmes and offer a range of cost-effective services by aggregating demand. By transforming such business clusters into Healthy Workplace Ecosystems, we bring healthy living to the doorstep of working adults, supporting them in adopting and maintaining a healthy lifestyle.

4.    This is one key thrust of the Tripartite Oversight Committee, established last year, to drive and implement workplace health and safety at the national level.  The Committee has been actively implementing our plans to promote employee health, safety and wellness in a holistic manner, as well as encourage employers to increase adoption of workplace health promotion programmes. This includes driving health promoting ecosystems in business parks and industrial estates through the Healthy Workplace Ecosystem approach.

one-north Cluster Project

5.    In one-north, the Healthy Workplace Ecosystem has been gradually taking shape in phases, helping the business park to realise its vision of becoming a vibrant community that attracts diverse talents to work, live, play and learn in.

6.    Here, tenants can have convenient access to healthier options and opportunities to engage in healthy living while at work. This is advantageous for both the workforce as well as the landlord who are able to differentiate its business park as an engaging and energising workplace.

7.    Since November 2014, every stall within the two key food courts in one-north has been offering at least one healthier meal which is prepared with healthier cooking methods or healthier ingredients like whole grains. These make up 21 per cent of the meals sold at one-north.

8.    There have also been requests from other F&B tenants at one-north to be part of the programme and to offer healthier meals. We have now started to engage the cafes and restaurants in one-north to further increase the availability of healthier food options across the entire cluster.

9.    Technology has also been leveraged to nudge one-north employees to adopt healthier behaviours. For instance, HPB’s HealthyLiving@SG mobile application has been piloted at one-north. The application, which enables employees to track their exercise as well as prompts workers on health programmes and workshops available at one-north, has attracted about 500 active users to date. 35 per cent of the users who were not meeting the recommended 150 minutes of active time per week, reported achieving higher levels of physical activity beyond the recommended level with the help of the application.

10.    We have also seen about 3,700 one-north employees benefitting from the various health programmes on-site, including the regular physical activity sessions and educational workshops. Attendance at the regular health sessions has increased five-fold since they were first introduced. Popular sports like futsal and basketball, were also brought to the new one-north Launchpad, enabling all to enjoy a healthy workout through team sports.

11.    It is heartening to see the buzz of activities in one-north and I would like to commend the good efforts of the one-north developers and businesses for bringing the Healthy Workplace Ecosystem to life here. With one-north spanning across a massive 200 hectares of land space and consisting of many buildings and facilities managed by different entities, this strong partnership and support is critical.

12.    The active participation of employees at one-north has also been an integral part of creating a supportive environment that is conducive to the good health of employees. With healthier options and activities within easy reach, colleagues can encourage and motivate each other to stay healthy and active through making healthier lifestyle choices every day.

Conclusion

13.    I am pleased to see how the Healthy Workplace Ecosystem initiative has been gaining momentum over the last one year since the launch of the model in late 2013 with Mapletree Business City and Ascenda’s seven clusters in November last year.

14.    JTC and other major real estate developers in Singapore such as Mapletree and Ascendas have taken the lead in incorporating health and wellness in their business strategy, creating more value for all stakeholders in the clusters, and I encourage more partners to come on board.

15.    Let’s work together to make healthy living options easily available and accessible to more working adults in Singapore. This will encourage individuals to take ownership of their own health and enable businesses to benefit from a more engaged and healthier workforce. Thank you.