Top Ideas for Wellness Challenges in The Workplace

Businesses with a healthy workforce perform better. Providing employers with wellness challenges in the workplace is a great way to motivate them towards better health and well-being. These challenges are supposed to provide some kind of incentive to employees to adopt and stick with health goals that they set for themselves.    

The interesting part is that you can customize wellness challenges in the workplace. The actual employee wellness challenges can be in any form and are based on the health areas that employees wish to improve. In other words, the process is different for everyone and isn’t limited to diet or physical health.

Many companies are building their workplace wellness challenge ideas on mental health improvement too. Others focus on financial health and many other areas of interest that will aid employee well-being.   

1. Process for building a wellness challenge

The importance of employee health and loyalty cannot be overstated in the battle against turnover and disengagement. By taking advantage of the right wellness challenges at work initiatives, you can improve your health. Physical fitness, financial wellness, and mental health are all included in the term "well-being". Which options should employers consider designing company wellness challenges or programs around?

2. Focus on winning

Healthy lifestyle behaviours are the ultimate goal of Challenges. A healthy way of living is more likely to be adopted or maintained by people when they can find support, fun, and camaraderie during the challenges. In only a little or no time, a company challenge can achieve a higher level of engagement and a productive work environment where everyone gains and wins something.

3. Build a challenge around a concept

Everyone in the organization can create challenges or share personal wellness tips. People are more likely to buy in when they generate ideas and choose the best products. There are many ways to challenge yourself. In general, consistency improves participation levels and results.

There is more focus and efficiency in shorter-duration challenges, like those lasting one week or a month. You can choose to do the challenge for the entire month during a monthly challenge or just part of it. For example, you could plan yoga sessions that focus on back stretches or standing desk exercises that keep one energized.  

By following this approach, you can create new challenge ideas regularly if you'd like more variety. You can even build challenges around new health trends: like how employees get creative with walking treadmills.

4. Rewarding their efforts

It is important to have as many people as possible succeed by designing challenges that reward their efforts. The challenge gave all employees the unique opportunity to experience something new. Participation in Challenges is optional, and rewards can be earned. The awards are typically nonmonetary and straightforward. Incentives such as sponsorships are extremely valuable. Consider offering the winners a discount on products or services offered by local businesses.

5. Types of wellness challenges

Now that you plan out a wellness initiative, what are the things that you can focus on? Ask employees about the health and wellness goals that are closest to them, to begin with. Then build a fun, awesome exercise or routine around it.

6. Walking fit

Most people are familiar with walking challenges, one of the most popular and straightforward fitness challenges. The advantages of walking include ease of use, no specialized equipment needed, and it's cheap. All that is required normally is a tracker device or app that keeps track of the steps they take.

The winner is the person who has taken the most steps! Since most employees don't get enough exercise, we chose walking. Employees both on-site and remotely can participate, which is also a plus.  

7. Nutrition

Eating healthy is important as it reflects in your work. One effective approach is to arrange seminars on wellness and nutrition that nutrition experts or health coaches teach. You can use popular apps for tracking and rewarding food intake to encourage employees to improve their nutrition.

8. Picking up new habits

Showcase the habit of adopting a habit that is healthy and new. For instance, you might sleep more, drink more water, or take the stairs rather than the elevator. We intend to establish one small healthy habit at a time and develop a healthy lifestyle. The challenge lies in the fact that these kinds of habits are difficult to stick with. By introducing one habit at a time, you will avoid overwhelming your participants.  

9. Fixing up finances

Having a good financial situation affects productivity significantly. Employers may hold financial planning sessions to offer solutions for a host of money matters: mortgages, investments, savings schemes, debts, etc. The best way to accomplish this is to deliver it via webinars, self-paced educational tools, and sponsored financial advisers.

10. Environmental concerns

A simple goal of sustainability could serve as an inspiration for this challenge - taking into account every individual's impact on the environment. Biologically, ecologically, and personally, sustainability challenges are beneficial. By engaging them in these activities, they will be able to engage in earth care, follow sustainable practices, and better themselves. 

11. Sleep challenges

Adding work and family responsibilities usually leads to a loss of sleep quantity and quality. Many challenges arise around sleep because of this obstacle. One can share content about sleep improvements via articles, webcasts, expert advice, videos, and fun quizzes. Sleep is affected by various factors, including stress, work, nutrition, and physical activity. You can take on sleep challenges such as drinking a lot of water, practicing yoga, or participating in physical activities such as meditation before bedtime.

12. Caring for charities

In this challenge, you encourage employees to support a cause of their own or participate in a company-wide charitable initiative. Other challenges could be designed earning options that are redeemed into cash amounts that go to the charitable trust of this choice