How does a LACTIK team race work? Five colleagues start together, walk or run four laps of 400 metres, share the work at three stations between the laps, and finish on one team clock that stops only when the last of them crosses the line. There are no individual times. The first LACTIK races take place this weekend, in Chennai on Saturday and in Bangkok on Sunday, and this is the format those teams will meet on the start line.

HOW DOES A LACTIK RACE START?

Every team in a LACTIK race starts on the same signal, from the same line. There are no waves and no staggered starts. Before the start, each team has a ten-minute briefing on the format and the rules, then a fifteen-minute warm-up led together. Each team is assigned a LACTIK coach and a referee for the whole session, from the briefing to the cool-down.

WHAT HAPPENS BETWEEN THE LAPS?

A LACTIK course alternates four laps of 400 metres with three stations: squats, burpees and lunges, 50 or 100 repetitions each (depending on the chosen format). Every lap can be walked or run, and the team moves as one group. At each station the repetitions are shared across the five colleagues, so every teammate is needed and no one carries a station alone. The referee counts the team’s repetitions and holds the movement standard. No equipment is used at any point.

WHEN DOES THE CLOCK STOP?

The LACTIK clock stops when the last teammate crosses the finish line, and that single rule shapes the whole race. The fastest runner gains nothing by arriving first, so a team’s time depends on keeping everyone together. LACTIK records one time per team and never an individual time, which means nobody is ranked or singled out. On the LACTIK session plan the race itself takes about 25 minutes, inside a session that opens with the briefing and warm-up and closes with a cool-down taken together.

WHO CAN TAKE PART?

Anyone in the organisation can take part in a LACTIK race. Every segment can be walked or run, and no prior fitness experience or technical movement is needed. Teams are made of five colleagues, and a team time can be compared with other teams in the same company, in the same city, and in other cities.

WHY IS THE FORMAT BUILT THIS WAY?

Three findings about health and teams at work sit behind the format.

The World Health Organization’s physical activity fact sheet, updated in June 2024, recommends that adults do at least 150 minutes of moderate-intensity physical activity per week, and states that in adults, physical activity reduces symptoms of depression and anxiety. WHO reported in June 2024 that 31% of adults worldwide, about 1.8 billion people, did not reach that level in 2022. A 25-minute LACTIK race counts towards that weekly total. It does not replace it.

The European Agency for Safety and Health at Work (EU-OSHA) lists lack of support from management or colleagues among the working conditions that create psychosocial risks at work. In EU-OSHA’s OSH Pulse survey of 2022, 27% of workers said they experienced stress, anxiety or depression caused or made worse by work. A LACTIK race gives colleagues a practical reason to support each other, which is why the work at every station is shared.

A 2009 meta-analysis by Klein and colleagues in Small Group Research, based on 60 correlations, found that team building has a positive moderate effect across all team outcomes, with the largest effects on affective outcomes (how members feel about their team) and process outcomes (how they work together). The studies in that review tested team-building interventions in general, not LACTIK. We looked at this evidence, and at what it does not prove, in Team building, by the numbers.

None of this makes a race a substitute for good work organisation, manager training or professional support. A LACTIK race works alongside them: one shared, practical hour in which colleagues move and help each other.

WHAT IS LACTIK, IN ONE SENTENCE?

LACTIK is a corporate team race: teams of five cover 1600 metres together, shared repetitions across three equipment-free stations, and finish on a single team clock with no individual rankings. The full format, station by station, is in the How it works section of lactik.co.

Start together. Finish together.

THE CALENDAR

SUNDAY 11 OCTOBER · BANGKOK, THAILAND · THE JOGGLING CLUB.

THE FORMAT

A brief introduction and Olympic warm up routine, led by Stuart Dutamby (Lactik Founder, Olympic athlete, world championship finalist and European medallist).

The course: four laps of 400 m. Between the laps there are three stations of 50 shared reps each: air squats, burpees and lunges.

Every team starts together, and the clock stops when the last teammate crosses the line.

The team runs together, works together and finishes together.

No one is left behind, because the time only counts when everyone is home.

NEXT WEEK

Photos & results

THE CALENDAR

SATURDAY 10 OCTOBER · CHENNAI, INDIA · THE AHORA CLUB.

THE RACE

The course: four laps of 400 m. Between the laps there are three stations of 50 shared reps each: air squats, burpees and lunges.

Every team starts together, and the clock stops when the last teammate crosses the line.

The team runs together, works together and finishes together.

No one is left behind, because the time only counts when everyone is home.

NEXT WEEK

Photos & results

In the words of its founder, Yvon Chouinard: “We have a policy that when the surf comes up, you drop work and you go surfing.” He gave his book the same name: Let My People Go Surfing.

THE RULE

There is one condition. “I don’t care when you work as long as the job gets done,” Chouinard said in an interview with NPR’s How I Built This.

The rule rests on trust. People manage their own time, and the work still has to be done well. Movement and time outdoors are not treated as a break from the culture of the company. They are part of it.

THE CARE BEHIND IT

The surf rule is the famous part. The less famous part goes further.

Patagonia has offered on-site child care at its headquarters since 1983. Writing on the company’s website, its then chief executive, Rose Marcario, reported that over five years, 100% of mothers returned to work after maternity leave. Turnover among parents using the programme was 25% lower than among other employees. And the company estimates it recovers 91% of the programme’s costs each year.

WHAT IT DOES AND DOES NOT PROVE

This is one company’s story, reported by the company itself. It is not a controlled study, and Patagonia’s results come from many things at once: its mission, its customers, its people.

But it shows something useful. Looking after people’s lives, including their need to move, to rest and to care for their families, can sit comfortably inside a demanding business.

WHAT ANY TEAM CAN TAKE FROM IT

Few offices have waves outside the window. The idea travels anyway.

1. Make movement normal during the working week, not only after it.

2. Build it on trust. The work gets done, and people choose how.

3. Do it together. A shared moment of movement is also a moment of connection between colleagues.

WHY WE CARE

LACTIK is a team race for colleagues: walk or run, exercise, and cross the finish line together.

We think of it as a surf rule for teams without a beach. Time to move, inside the working week, side by side with the people you work with.

Treat your team like athletes.

SOURCES

CNBC (2016). The founder of Patagonia fishes half the year and tells his employees to go surfing.

https://www.cnbc.com/2016/12/23/founder-of-patagonia-fishes-half-the-year-tells-his-employees-to-surf.html

Patagonia, Rose Marcario. Family Business: Weighing the Business Case.

https://www.patagonia.com/stories/culture/community/family-business-weighing-the-business-case/story-32958.html

Patagonia Works (2016). Patagonia releases new book, Family Business: Innovative On-Site Child Care Since 1983.

https://www.patagoniaworks.com/press/2016/8/8/patagonia-releases-new-book-family-business-innovative-on-site-child-care-since-1983

1. TEAM BUILDING WORKS, MOST OF ALL ON HOW A TEAM FEELS AND FUNCTIONS

In 2009, a group of researchers led by Cameron Klein pooled the results of earlier studies into one meta-analysis, published in Small Group Research. It looked at four kinds of team building: goal setting, interpersonal relations, problem solving and role clarification.

Their conclusion: team building “has a positive moderate effect across all team outcomes.” The effect was strongest on two things. How team members feel about each other and about the team. And how they work together, day to day.

Moderate is the honest word. Team building is not magic. But across many studies, it moves the things that make a team a team.

2. FRIENDS AT WORK MATTER, AND THEY ARE RARE

Gallup has asked employees for years whether they have a best friend at work. In the United States, just two in ten say they do.

The difference shows. In Gallup’s 2022 data, 44% of employees who strongly agreed they had a best friend at work said they would recommend their organisation as a great place to work. Among everyone else, the figure was 21%.

Gallup also finds that people with a best friend at work are more likely to get more done in less time, to share ideas, and to have fun at work.

This is a link, not proof of cause. People may find friends more easily in places that already work well. But it shows what is at stake when colleagues barely know each other.

3. MOVING TOGETHER, NOT JUST MOVING

In a 2017 study published in The Journal of the American Osteopathic Association, 69 medical students chose one of three paths for 12 weeks: a weekly group fitness class, exercise on their own, or no structured exercise.

The group exercisers reported 26% less perceived stress, and better mental, physical and emotional quality of life. The solo exercisers improved their mental quality of life by 11%, but their stress did not change significantly, even though they exercised about twice as long.

This is one small study, with students who chose their own path. It points in a direction; it does not settle the question. But the direction is worth noticing: the “together” may matter as much as the exercise.

WHAT THE THREE HAVE IN COMMON

Read side by side, they point the same way. A shared goal. Real connection between colleagues. And effort made together, not alone.

WHY WE CARE

LACTIK is a team race for colleagues: walk or run, exercise, and cross the finish line together. Every team starts together, and the clock only stops when the last teammate crosses the line.

A shared goal. Colleagues who may rarely work together, on one team. An effort they carry from start to finish. We built the race around the same three things these studies point to.

SOURCES

Klein, C. et al. (2009). Does Team Building Work? Small Group Research.

https://www.researchgate.net/publication/220030881_Does_Team_Building_Work

Gallup (2022, updated 2024). The Increasing Importance of a Best Friend at Work.

https://www.gallup.com/workplace/397058/increasing-importance-best-friend-work.aspx

Yorks, D. M., Frothingham, C. A. and Schuenke, M. D. (2017). Effects of Group Fitness Classes on Stress and Quality of Life of Medical Students. The Journal of the American Osteopathic Association, 117(11).

https://www.degruyterbrill.com/document/doi/10.7556/jaoa.2017.140/html?lang=en

The World Health Organization has its own: the WHO guidelines on mental health at work, summarised in a fact sheet it updated in September 2026. Here is what it recommends, in plain terms

WORK CAN PROTECT MENTAL HEALTH

The WHO starts from a positive point. Work can give people “a livelihood, a sense of confidence, purpose and achievement, an opportunity for positive relationships and inclusion in a community and a platform for structured routines.”

The scale of the challenge is also clear. Globally, an estimated 12 billion working days are lost every year to depression and anxiety, at a cost of US$1 trillion per year in lost productivity.

THE FOUR ACTIONS

1. Organise work well

Organisational interventions “assess, and then mitigate, modify or remove workplace risks to mental health.” In practice: workload, schedules, clarity, and how people are treated. The guidelines include approaches where workers take part in shaping the changes.

2. Train managers

Here the WHO is firm: a strong recommendation, backed by moderate-certainty evidence. Manager training helps managers “recognize and respond to supervisees experiencing emotional distress” and builds skills “like open communication and active listening.”

3. Train everyone

Training for workers in mental health literacy and awareness, “to improve knowledge of mental health and reduce stigma against mental health conditions at work.”

4. Support individuals

Interventions that help people “build skills to manage stress and reduce mental health symptoms, including psychosocial interventions and opportunities for leisure-based physical activity.”

WHERE PHYSICAL ACTIVITY FITS

The guidelines give examples: “resistance training, strength-training, aerobic training, walking or yoga.” They say these “may be considered for workers to improve mental health and work ability.”

“May be considered” is deliberate. It is a conditional recommendation, and the WHO rates the certainty of the workplace evidence as very low. So it frames the advice with care.

Outside the workplace, the WHO is more direct. Its physical activity fact sheet states that being active “reduces symptoms of depression and anxiety, enhances brain health, and can improve overall well-being.”

The honest reading: physical activity is a useful part of the picture. It sits alongside the other three actions. It does not replace them.

WHY WE ARE SAYING THIS

LACTIK is a team race for colleagues: walk or run, exercise, and cross the finish line together.

We are a sport company, so it would be easy to claim that movement solves everything. It does not, and the WHO does not say so either. A race is one opportunity for leisure-based physical activity, shared with the people you work with. That is where it belongs, and that is what we build.

The other three actions are the work of managers, HR teams and everyone who shapes how work is organised.

This Saturday is a good day to recognise it.

SOURCES

World Health Organization, Mental health at work (fact sheet, updated September 2026)

https://www.who.int/news-room/fact-sheets/detail/mental-health-at-work

World Health Organization, Guidelines on mental health at work (2022), executive summary

https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/books/NBK586355/

World Health Organization, Guidelines on mental health at work (full publication)

https://www.who.int/publications-detail-redirect/9789240053052

World Health Organization, Physical activity (fact sheet)

https://www.who.int/news-room/fact-sheets/detail/physical-activity

On Tuesday 13 October, in Brussels, the European Agency for Safety and Health at Work (EU-OSHA) launches its new Healthy Workplaces Campaign: Together for Mental Health at Work, 2026–2028.

It comes three days after World Mental Health Day. One day of attention becomes three years of work.

WHAT THE CAMPAIGN IS

The campaign runs for three years and already counts more than 100 official partners. Its aim, in EU-OSHA’s own words, is to “raise awareness about the impact of psychosocial risks, to demonstrate the importance of preventing and managing psychosocial risks and promote the creation of supportive, inclusive, and mentally healthy work environments across all sectors.”

“Psychosocial risks” sounds technical. EU-OSHA defines them as risks that “arise from poor work design, organisation and management, as well as from poor social context of work.” In plain terms: workload, clarity, support, and how well people work together.

THREE REASONS THIS IS GOOD NEWS

It starts with prevention. The focus is on how work is organised, before anyone needs support.

It treats body and mind as one. In the campaign’s words: “Physical health and mental health are connected. It is important to take on a broad and holistic approach to prevention.”

It is built on cooperation. Good mental health at work, the campaign says, “can be achieved if workers and employers work together, in consultation with each other.” Employers, workers, HR professionals and safety representatives are all invited to join.

WHAT THE NUMBERS SAY

A recent EU-wide survey of workers, Flash Eurobarometer OSH Pulse 2025 (25,688 interviews across the 27 EU countries), gives a clear picture.

- 58% of workers say they would feel comfortable talking about their mental health with their manager. The conversation has opened.

- 44% say they face severe time pressure or work overload.

- 29% point to poor communication or cooperation within their organisation.

The last two figures are about how work is organised and how people work together. That is exactly where the campaign puts its focus.

A second EU survey, ESENER 2024, covered more than 41,000 workplaces in 30 European countries. The risk factor they report most often is physical: prolonged sitting, named by 64% of workplaces.

WHERE ANY TEAM CAN START

The campaign will share tools and good practice over the next three years. Three starting points already follow from its principles.

Ask. Consultation sits at the heart of the campaign. Ask your team what makes their work harder, and act on what you hear.

Move. The World Health Organization notes that physical activity “reduces symptoms of depression and anxiety, enhances brain health, and can improve overall well-being.” With prolonged sitting the most reported risk factor, moving more is a natural first step.

Connect. When nearly a third of workers point to communication and cooperation, time together matters. Colleagues who know each other work together more easily. A shared moment away from the desk is one of the simplest ways to start.

WHY THIS MATTERS TO US

LACTIK is a team race for colleagues: walk or run, exercise, and cross the finish line together. We built it to bring co-workers together and to make sport part of company culture.

Europe’s campaign says the same thing in its own language. Health at work is physical and mental, and it is built together.

Treat your team like athletes.

SOURCES

EU-OSHA, Healthy Workplaces Campaign launch, 13 October 2026, Brussels

https://osha.europa.eu/en/oshevents/healthy-workplaces-campaign-launch-together-mental-health-work

EU-OSHA, Together for mental health at work 2026–2028

https://healthy-workplaces.osha.europa.eu/en

EU-OSHA, What is the campaign about?

https://healthy-workplaces.osha.europa.eu/en/about-topic/what-about

EU-OSHA, Who should be involved

https://healthy-workplaces.osha.europa.eu/en/about-topic/who-should-be-involved

EU-OSHA, Psychosocial risks and mental health

https://osha.europa.eu/en/themes/psychosocial-risks-and-mental-health

Flash Eurobarometer OSH Pulse 2025, mental health at work

https://osha.europa.eu/sites/default/files/documents/OSH-pulse-2025-mental-health_infographic_EN.pdf

EU-OSHA, ESENER 2024 survey results

https://osha.europa.eu/en/about-eu-osha/press-room/prolonged-sitting-psychosocial-risks-and-digitalisation-top-workplace-safety-and-health-concerns-new-eu-survey-reveals

World Health Organization, Physical activity fact sheet

https://www.who.int/news-room/fact-sheets/detail/physical-activity