Ideas to Get Your Employees Moving

Healthy workers are great for business — they take fewer sick days, cost less to insure and tend to be happier and more confident than their unhealthy counterparts. For desk-bound professionals, staying active can be a challenge. By finding ways to get employees moving, you can improve their lives and boost your bottom line.

Run or Walk for Charity

If your company is socially conscious, use charity to get employees moving. Work with your staff to choose a nonprofit organization in need — be sure to pick one that workers feel strongly about — and sign up as a fundraising team for an upcoming race. Select a distance that's challenging but manageable for people of all fitness levels after six months of training, such as a 10K. In the months leading up to the event, work together as a team to complete a training plan, find sponsors and host fundraising events. Keep workers on track by scheduling at least one group workout session per week. Training together is a powerful way to get employees moving and create a positive, supportive atmosphere. As a side benefit, the collaborative effort toward a worthwhile common goal can increase morale and reduce stress and burnout.

Build an Exercise-Friendly Office

One way to get employees moving is to ensure that your office is friendly to exercisers. Install showers in the men's and women's bathrooms so workers can clean up after running or biking to work. Help busy employees find time to work out by turning a spare room into a small fitness center for use before work, at lunch or after close of business. Alternatively, focus on more low-impact activities by installing sit-stand desks or investing in treadmill or bike desks. If your workers are resistant, encourage more activity during the day by replacing traditional meetings with standing or walking meetings.

Create a Competition

Turn exercise into a good-natured competition, and get employees moving with fitness gamification. Purchase a fitness tracker for each of your workers. Ask each person to download the tracker's app and connect using the app's social tools. Then set goals: 10,000 steps, a set number of active minutes or a specific number of calories burned. Other options include the longest streak of consecutive exercise days or the most pounds lost in a month. Give your workers the freedom to find creative ways to get active during the day. Employees might hold brainstorming sessions while climbing the building stairs or walking on treadmills at a nearby gym, for example. Get the whole group involved by pausing work once an hour to do a five-minute group activity such as jumping jacks, wall sits or a quick stretch.

Finding ways to get employees moving benefits your staff and your company. With creativity and office-appropriate methods, you can build a workforce of happy, healthy workers.

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