Workplace challenges are a great way to get some teamwork going and focus on health and well-being. But how do you ensure your workplace fitness challenge isn’t a fitness fizzle?
Teamwork has become even more important than ever as work-from-home and hybrid working have become commonplace. But even if your team is all onsite or has always worked remotely, it’s a great idea to encourage teamwork with a bit of fun and healthy competition.
And that’s where a workplace health and well-being challenge comes in.
Healthworks’ Activate My Wellbeing Challenge is a four-week virtual mental health and wellbeing challenge, created by a doctor and a team of health professionals. It is based on key themes which all play a part in helping us find balance and boost our mental health and well-being. Through a series of weekly tasks, activities, videos and live interactive webinars, participants will be provided with the tools and knowledge needed to create healthy habits leading to a happier, healthier lifestyle.
Our Fitness Challenge is a more physical challenge and involves participants forming teams and competing against other teams in a race – it also aims to form healthy fitness habits that will last well beyond the challenge timeline.
Why should you run a dedicated health and well-being challenge?
Health and well-being challenges can be a great way to get your employees excited about wellness. In fact, an office health and wellbeing challenge can be the highlight of your health and wellbeing program – but only if it’s done right.
How do you do it right?
It’s not as easy as sending an email blast about an upcoming run and dusting your hands off. Health and well-being challenges must be engaging. For everyone. You can’t rely on a one-size fits all approach. After all, your employees are a diverse group of varying ages and fitness levels.
In fact, it’s much more important to motivate those for whom fitness isn’t all that high on their priority list.
How do you get people to participate in workplace health and well-being challenges?
Here are four simple steps:
- Make it fun! Depending on the kind of challenge. perhaps you can show off using leaderboards. Participants can see where they or their team is in relation to everyone else – and engage in healthy competition. Or add some puzzles and trivia to a more individual-based challenge.
- Make it accessible by giving participants a range of activities and options they can participate in so it’s more accessible to all.
- Set a goal so that participants can visualise what they’re doing. Have a points tally or tell them they’re doing something like walking from Point A to Point B over a time – for example, from Kakadu to Uluru in 4 weeks.
- Give people an incentive to participate by offering prizes, especially if you get creative with the prize categories.
A well-received health and wellbeing challenge creates opportunities for your team to bond and make them more aware of their physical health and wellbeing. You can then use the momentum to springboard participation in upcoming health and wellbeing initiatives.
Organise Your Workplace Health Challenges with Healthworks
Want to know more about the Activate My Wellbeing Challenge? Contact us here or visit the Activate My Wellbeing Challenge page.
Or check out our Fitness Challenge, a team based challenge for all locations.
