Exploring How Physical Activity Impacts Mental Health, with Stanford University

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We’re delighted to announce a joint collaboration with Stanford University and healthier eating brand itsu, investigating (amongst other things) the impact of physical activity on mental health.

We all know of the significant cost to businesses of poor physical and mental health, with the cost of staff turnover due to poor mental health increasing over 150% in recent years in the UK alone. Whilst there are plenty of tools on the market to address problems once they’ve arisen (not least EAPs), we look at the other side of the picture too – how can organisations support their people to be happy, healthy and combat difficult times? We have long felt that one of the most powerful ways to proactively improve people’s physical and also mental health is through exercise and connection.

Through a gamified, social and most importantly consumer-facing product, we have the tools to measure both the quantitative and qualitative impact of exercise on mental health… not just for the fittest and the fastest, but with a particular focus on the masses, or those who tend to be more inactive.

Whilst we can’t give too much away on the mechanics of the study, we are genuinely excited to witness and measure the impact of unleashing the full GoJoe experience on itsu’s workforce.

Jan Bauer, itsu (Benefits, Rewards and People Analytics): “I am thrilled to be part of this collaboration. While there are numerous wellbeing solutions available, many tend to focus solely on one aspect of wellbeing, limiting their appeal to only a fraction of employees. With GoJoe, our team gains access to a vast library of expert advice spanning four essential areas of wellbeing: Move, Fuel, Rest, and Feel. This empowers employees to customise their experience based on their individual wellbeing journey. As an employer, we recognise that we can't dictate our employees' lifestyles, but we can inspire and offer guidance on achieving a health[ier]and happ[ier]life. The insights we will gain from this collaboration will help us shape itsu's future wellbeing strategy, enabling us to better understand our employees' wellbeing needs at a deeper level.”

Szu-chi Huang, Stanford University (Professor of Marketing): “Health, well-being, and social connection are all important goals we share as human beings. It’s rare to see a product like GoJoe that provides a path for reaching all three goals at once. This collaboration will leverage insights from motivation science to engage and empower itsu employees to make amazing progress towards these three goals. I look forward to learning from itsu and GoJoe communities!”  

Will Turner, GoJoe (CEO and co-founder): “We know first-hand of the impact of physical exercise on physical and mental health. We get so much data from our product, and being able to work with the likes of Stanford and forward-thinking brands like itsu who are obsessed with health gives us such a unique opportunity to use that data as a force for good."