Meet our IKEA Top Player Dipen

Dipen is one of our Customer Service Team Leaders. He is always advocating for co-workers to start walking more, in particular, to work. He is very passionate about walking, and he wanted to share his story with the Your Move community.

"I love walking to and from work, and if you are able to, why not try giving it a go? This is my story, why I choose to walk to and from work .

Its free! NO Rego, NO Petrol, NO insurance, NO EMI for Car Loan (that’s what all of you are thinking, but, let me explain to you my other reasons). It might actually be faster – you don’t get scrambled up in that rush hour traffic! It’s good for your health. Walking reduces your risk of conditions such as; type 2 diabetes, high blood pressure, and heart disease. It can assist with weight loss, and keeps me fit.

Gentle exercise like walking gives me a natural boost of energy through enhancing circulation and oxygen supply around my body. Who doesn’t want to feel energetic when they get into work, and when they get home from work?

I don’t have to do or think about anything else. The thing I am ‘doing’ is walking, and if you are walking a route you know well (you are likely to be if you walk to and from work), it is the perfect time to let your mind wander. Daydream, be creative, think about things I don’t have time to think about when my attention is taken up with work or home. It can increase my sense of wellbeing. It also gives me time to myself (which in most of our busy lives we don’t get very often!).

Walking is naturally slower than being in a car, on a bus or even cycling, and this different pace means I often see things on my walk to work that I might well miss if I used another method of transport. This could be specific things like a really beautiful morning sky, a rainbow or more general like watching the seasons change. I am in love with my big green umbrella, it is also my nonliving friend in my life.

I have also made a connection with the aged people who live on the street I walk everyday, I love to greet them "Good morning" and/or evening, I do not know the name of any of them, they always call me "IKEA Man". It brings a smile to the start of their day.

You all will be thinking "what about in storms and heavy rain?"; then all my story reading friends, you can have special service available that day for you. You can have a ride in a Mercedes Benz with a driver (All Transperth buses are made by Mercedes Benz).

My walks to and from work are a great way to unplug and switch off from social media or phone addiction, I know that despite my good intentions, if I was on the bus I would be browsing the internet on my phone.

Having this time to myself to think and just ‘be’, can help me to make the emotional and mental (as well as the physical) transition from home to work. It can help me to feel ready for work when I walk into the workplace and leave work behind when I walk into my home. (This is one of the reasons I have politely refused many friendly co-workers requests for a lift back home).

I consider that walking makes me fit for every aspect of life. I think this is one of the reasons I have never used my sick leave from the last 11 years working with IKEA. I hope you guys like my story of 'walking exercise'."

I hope you enjoyed Dipen's story and felt inspired to walk to work!