If You Work In An Office, Set This Up Today!

If you work in an office you will no doubt be acutely aware of the challenges to our health and wellbeing it can bring. From the prolonged sitting at a desk, hunching over a computer screen, drinking too much coffee to partaking in too many unhealthy snacks, office life can be challenging even to the most dedicated health and wellness regime.
So here’s something all office’s should be implementing, and that doesn’t just go for the physical office, but also people who work as a team but work remotely from their homes……. Office Wellness Challenges!
An office wellness challenge is short-term behavior change contests, interventions, and team activities designed to improve health and employee morale.
Examples of Great Challenges Your Office Could Implement Today
Maintain Don’t Gain challenge – With the holiday season about to hit us it is obviously a time when we typically gain the most weight. This campaign gets employees to monitor their weight every few days with the goal of not gaining any weight at the end of a two week period. It can be a great way of staying focused on healthy eating and portion control prior and over the holidays. It can also set the foundation for a healthy year ahead.
Plank Challenge – work up to 1 minute by the end of the week.
Push-Up Challenge – see how many push-ups you can complete in 1 minute.
Lunge Challenge – designate a corridor or area in the office that once entered has to be lunged instead of walked.
Sit-Up Challenge – on the hour, every hour, the office as one completes 20 sit-ups.
Stretch Challenge – a different stretch is chosen each day of one week and mid morning and mid afternoon this stretch is completed.
Sugar Free Day – no sugary snacks or drinks.
Water challenge – drinking 64oz of water before the day is finished.
Healthy Snack Day – eat only fruit or crunchy raw vegetables as your daily snacks.
Feeling Grateful – write down one thing you are grateful for.
Act of Kindness Week – one random act of kindness each day for a week.
Breathe – take 3 minutes out of your day to practice a breathing technique.
Trying to keep wellness programs fresh and interesting is key, so set them up to only last over a one or two week period. A great way to ensure positive participation is to offer a reward at the end of the challenge.
There are two main reasons that employers should instigate office challenges:
1) to improve employee morale and create a feeling of fun and comradery in the work place.
2) to use challenges as a way to help employees adopt and maintain healthy behaviors and reduce health care expenses.
Whatever the reason, the results will speak for themselves!