Business
How Sing Uses GymRats to Encourage Employee Fitness
Janaína Leme explains the wellness initiative trading 30 daily minutes of exercise for paid time off at the PR agency.
Janaína Leme of Sing Comunicação details the rollout of a GymRats fitness challenge designed to foster regular exercise across her remote team. The program awards paid days off for monthly check-in goals to boost mental health and focus.
In a conversation with Bruno Gimenes on Marketing - The Podcast, Janaína Leme, partner and head of PR at Sing Comunicação, explained how the agency built an internal wellness challenge using the GymRats app. The initiative links regular physical exercise to mental health and burnout prevention by establishing a rest-based incentive system.
The discussion highlights evidence demonstrating the direct link between healthy habits and professional performance. Gimenes cites 2025 Harvard Business Review data showing that leaders with consistent workout routines exhibit 34% greater resilience under high pressure. Additionally, a 2024 APA study found physically active professionals experience 41% fewer burnout episodes compared to their sedentary peers in the same environment. This strategy echoes the "nudge" concept adopted by Google in the 2010s, when the tech giant introduced nutritional guidance and installed gyms near common areas to promote balanced eating habits and curb absenteeism.
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Longevity and mental health beyond aesthetics
Reflecting on the program's origins at Sing Comunicação, Leme notes the idea grew from her studies in mental health and psychoanalysis, alongside the need to support an aging, multigenerational workforce. She observes that while younger employees naturally shift lifestyle habits, seasoned professionals require continuous support to preserve their quality of life across extended careers.
"Physical activity shouldn't be tied to aesthetics or achieving the 'perfect body.' That may be a byproduct of your efforts, but it doesn't have to be. Mental health, however, is directly tied to it," Leme says. She shares that sports have always anchored her professional focus, leading the agency to extend that benefit to the entire team, which already had access to TotalPass corporate memberships.
Challenge mechanics and rest as a reward
The agency discovered GymRats through clients such as headphone maker Ality and tailored the platform for an internal incentive program. Rather than offering cash bonuses, Sing opted to link monthly exercise targets to additional paid time off, acknowledging the effort required to build a consistent routine.
"Our reasoning? Alongside existing benefits like birthday days off and standard vacation, we decided against financial bonuses because money isn't everything. We chose rest instead, because staying consistent with physical activity takes real energy," explains Leme.
The program rules require at least 30 minutes of physical activity to earn a daily app check-in—covering walking, running, cycling, elliptical workouts, tennis, or CrossFit. Employees who complete every daily check-in throughout the month earn a paid day off. To motivate those just starting out, management also raffles two extra days off among all active participants, regardless of whether they reached the full monthly goal.
Remote routines and team engagement
Sing operates primarily on a remote work model, hosting in-person gatherings only twice a month or for special events. In this flexible setting, leadership encourages employees to set clear boundaries on their workdays and find time for self-care, whether in the early morning or during lunch breaks.
"If you can organize your professional life, you can carve out a little time for personal well-being and exercise if you choose to. We don't force anything; the program is entirely optional," Leme emphasizes. Currently, between 15 and 17 of the agency's 30 employees actively participate in the challenge. In the video above, Leme breaks down how the initiative fits into the agency's people management strategy and reflects on how athletic discipline shapes corporate performance.
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