What is a Wellness Challenge?
A Workplace Wellness Challenge is an activity meant engage employees and help them become happier, healthier, and more energetic. The purpose of a wellness challenge is to encourage healthier lifestyle behaviors. The best part, as stated by Corporate Wellness Magazine, is that company challenges can be created with little to no investments, and the net result is an engaged and productive workforce that performs at a higher level. It is a win-win, especially as we move into 2021!
Tips for Creating Wellness Challenges
Wellness challenges big or small are gaining popularity and changing lives both in the physical workplace and for remote workers! Now is the perfect time to start planning which wellness challenges you will be in porting next year. If you haven’t created a wellness challenge before, check out these tips:
- Wellness challenges are the most successful when a supportive, positive climate of fun and camaraderie exists to help all participants adopt or maintain a healthy way of living.
- Encourage everyone to participate in brainstorming challenge ideas. This can be done through surveys, in virtual chat groups or during zoom meetings.
- Short duration challenges, such a one week or one month, are more focused and are often more effective.
- Challenges should be designed to reward effort and make it possible for as many people to succeed as possible.
- Talk to local businesses and see if they would offer a product or service discount to the challenge winners. Local sponsorships are not only a great incentive, but it allows you to support local as well!
- If you plan on incorporating challenges that require physical activity, encourage employees to talk to their physician before beginning. This is especially important if they have been inactive, are overweight, or have preexisting medical conditions.
Wellness Challenge Ideas
Feeling stumped when it comes to brainstorming wellness challenge ideas? We’ve listed a few below to get you started!
- Eat the Rainbow: A perfect challenge to start the new year off right! Challenge participants to eat five different colored fruits and veggies each day. They can keep a personal log, or you can have a digital daily tracker for everyone to use.
- Mindfulness Challenge: Have participants commit to one mindfulness activity each day for a week. It could mediation, yoga, journaling, etc.!
- Movement Challenge: This is a classic challenge, but a great one! Encourage participants to reach 10,000 steps each day for month. Get creative with tracking and rewards to make it more exciting.
- Healthy Start: If your workforce is back in the office or plans to be in 2021, a Walk/Bike to Work Challenge is a great way for everyone to start the day with exercise. For remote workers, challenge them to take a morning walk or bike ride each day.
- Sleep Challenge: Have participants download Sleep Cycle, or a similar app to track their sleep, and challenge them to get at least 7 hours of sleep each night!
Visit Corporate Wellness Magazine for more information!
