08
March
2019
|
16:35
Australia/Melbourne

GoGo dancers spice up Bupa’s Brisbane office for International Women’s Day

The Bupa team in Brisbane hosted a groovy International Women’s Day celebration today, paying tribute to the history of the women’s rights movement with a GoGo dancing class.

Jenna Armstrong, NPS Engagement and Capability Consultant, led the lunchtime class which filled the office with music and left everyone smiling.

Jenna has been dancing since she was four, but the 1960’s dance craze holds a special place in her heart.

GoGo was one of the first styles of dance where both men and women could dance without a partner. For women of that era, having the freedom to go out, have fun and express themselves was a significant step forward.
Jenna Armstrong, NPS Engagement and Capability Consultant

Through her GoGo performances, Jenna has gained more confidence and an outlet for fun and self-expression, something she now focuses on bringing into her work life as well.

“There is an opportunity in the corporate world to make sure that our people are engaged and having fun, and able to share what they love. I know that I perform better when I can be myself."

Being herself has led Jenna to some unexpected places. Eleven years ago, she took a customer service role at Bupa thinking it would be temporary while she worked towards a career in visual merchandising.

“The people at Bupa were so supportive and dedicated to helping me to learn and grow that I really enjoyed what I was doing and stuck around. I’ve always been people and customer focussed and now in my current role I get to take verbatim what the customer is telling us and bring it to life for the business,” said Jenna.

In 2018, Jenna participated in Gender Agenda, a personal and professional development program for women at Bupa. As part of the program, participants develop a project to better the lives of women at Bupa and in the broader community.

After identifying that many women they knew faced uncertainty in retirement, Jenna’s cohort decided to focus on financial wellbeing.

“Elderly women are one of the fastest growing homeless populations. Because so many women have spent their time dedicated to the household and the family, if something does happen, they often don’t have financial security.”

The Bupa Workplace Health, Safety and Wellbeing team has since implemented financial wellbeing seminars for employees following the success of the project.

Interested in receiving the latest Bupa news? Subscribe here.