At precisely 4 PM each Thursday, the phones at one of Africa’s largest call centres fall silent as thousands of employees swap their headsets for soccer boots and netball bibs.
CCI South Africa, the continent’s leading business process outsourcer (BPO), has launched a bi-annual sports tournament that’s drawing attention not just for its scale — 65 soccer teams and 16 netball teams — but for its ambitious aim to tackle one of Africa’s growing health crises: physical inactivity.
The World Health Organization’s recent report on physical activity in the African Region presents a sobering reality: 22% of adults and a staggering 85% of school-going teenagers aren’t meeting basic physical activity requirements. These statistics take on particular significance in South Africa’s BPO sector, where workers often spend long hours seated, managing customer interactions across time zones.
“Getting teams onto the soccer field or netball court is not only a great opportunity for employees to get to know each other better in an informal environment, it’s a wonderful opportunity to celebrate our shared values and the diversity within CCI while encouraging our employees to embrace physical activity that supports their overall wellbeing,” says Peter Andrew, CCI South Africa CEO.
The company’s approach is particularly noteworthy in the context of workplace wellness research. Studies indicate that physically active employees are 31% less likely to experience work-related stress and 28% more productive than their sedentary counterparts. For a sector often characterized by high turnover rates and stress levels, these numbers aren’t just statistics—they’re a blueprint for organizational resilience.
What sets CCI’s initiative apart is its integration into a broader wellness ecosystem. The company has established on-site medical clinics, counseling services, and even hair salons, transforming their facilities into what might be described as self-contained wellness villages. It’s an approach that acknowledges the particular challenges of BPO work, where irregular shifts and high-pressure customer interactions can take a toll on employee wellbeing.
The tournament, running through November, has become more than just a sporting event. It’s a laboratory for what the company calls “physical intelligence” (PQ)—a framework that connects physical activity to cognitive and emotional performance. In an industry where emotional intelligence is paramount, this physical-mental connection takes on added significance.
