Employee health remains a priority for most companies, as studies show a clear link between wellness and key performance indicators like productivity, absenteeism, and healthcare costs. Comprehensive wellness programs are a solution, but getting employees to participate can be a hurdle. That’s where workplace fitness challenges come in. Learn how to set up these simple, fun initiatives to encourage healthy behaviors, foster teamwork, and take your wellness program to the next level.
Employer Responsibility for Wellness
Employees today expect more from their employers, including a focus on their health. According to the 2023 Workplace Wellness Survey, 74% of workers believe employers are responsible for supporting their health and well-being.
“A good wellness program isn’t just a perk; it’s a strategic necessity,” says Ashley Summers, Vice President of Customer Success at PEAR Health Labs. “Offering a comprehensive wellness program that looks at both physical and emotional well-being shows employees that you care about their health and happiness. This can lead to more engagement on the job, improved morale, and potentially lower healthcare costs.”
The Participation Puzzle: Why Employees Don’t Join
Unfortunately, not every employee will want to participate in your wellness program. Wellness programs may only attract those already motivated to improve their health. Additionally, some may think the initiatives are too complex, time-consuming, or challenging.
It could also be that the program is generic and doesn’t address their individual health needs. Personalization is a key factor affecting participation in employee wellness programs. A recent survey suggests that personalized wellness programs, combined with various non-cash incentives like paid time off, would motivate 80% of employees to become more engaged in the program.
Challenge Your Employees
One way to pique employees’ interest and boost participation in wellness is through workplace fitness challenges. Offered as part of a broader employee wellness program, challenges typically last several weeks and can be one-time events or regular occurrences. Employees participate individually or in teams, earning points for completing specific activities, with rewards or incentives offered for reaching set milestones. The goal is to engage employees in healthy activities and practice them through friendly competition.
Why Offer Workplace Fitness Challenges?
“One of the biggest benefits of employee fitness challenges is that it allows less active employees or those not used to exercise the chance to experience fitness in a fun, motivating context,” notes Ashley. She adds, “These short-term challenges are a great way to let employees ‘sample’ fitness. Hopefully, they’ll enjoy the experience and want to continue.”
The Power of Friendly Competition
Workplace fitness challenges offer more than physical benefits. They can also help build stronger workplace relationships. Challenges can create camaraderie beyond the workplace by uniting employees around a shared goal—a specific fitness achievement. The friendly, competitive spirit of the challenge can spill over into other aspects of work, resulting in improved teamwork and collaboration on the job.
Challenge Accepted: 8 Steps for Success
There are several strategies you can use to help ensure a successful workplace fitness challenge:
- Define your goals: Set clear goals for your fitness challenge, whether hitting a step count target, reaching personal bests, or simply getting more active.
- Determine the duration: It should be long enough to create a habit but not so long that employees may lose interest. Up to six weeks is often ideal.
- Create a communications plan: To keep participants informed and motivated, consider a kick-off event to generate excitement and provide an overview of the challenge. Use regular emails, a dedicated intranet page, or a social media group to share updates, tips, and motivational messages throughout the challenge.
- Make it fun for everyone: Design a challenge that caters to various fitness levels and interests. Include activities beyond traditional gym workouts – think walking, yoga sessions, or lunchtime fitness breaks. Remember to include options for remote employees.
- Form teams: Encourage team-based participation to foster camaraderie and friendly competition. Create teams that mix departments and experience levels for a more engaging experience.
- Use technology to simplify challenges and tracking: A fitness solution like Aaptiv allows employers to easily manage workplace fitness challenges and employees to track their activity and progress.
- Offer incentives and recognition: Incentives can go a long way toward motivating participants. Offer a variety of prizes, from gift cards and healthy snacks to fitness equipment or even an extra vacation day. Recognize individual and team accomplishments throughout the event.
- Gather feedback and adapt for the future: After the challenge, survey employees to learn what worked well and what could be improved. Use this information to make the next challenge even more successful.
Employee wellness challenges are not meant to be life-changing activities. Still, they can jumpstart new fitness habits that can improve health. “We see fantastic results with clients who use Aaptiv as part of their wellness program and run fitness challenges within the app. Employee engagement increases, and companies report the positive feedback they receive. Best of all, employees can continue to use the app long after the challenge is over to continue an active lifestyle.”
Aaptiv: An All-in-One Employee Well-being Solution
Aaptiv offers an all-in-one wellness solution that includes personalized workout plans, access to a network of 20,000+ national and local gyms, and 10,000+ on-demand video and audio classes, offering something for every employee’s wellness journey.
Learn more about Aaptiv employee fitness and wellness benefits
