Walking wellness programs are some of the most popular employee wellness programs. They set the bar for entry fairly low - most anyone can walk around the block or their building - and walking wellness also provides employees with a good way to break up the afternoon doldrums and interact briefly in a casual social environment with other employees. Just leaving your desk for a few minutes every day for a little sunshine can be a big stress reliever - and stress is the #2 cause of absenteeism, according to employee wellness statistics.
As a first step to starting your employee wellness program, we recommend that you have a designer draw up an attractive map of your corporate campus or vicinity. Plan out and test a few short walks of varying distances, and using a pedometer and watch, figure out how long each walk is in time and distance. Have a little fun with your walking wellness program by equating each walk with a common office activity of the same duration, like a writing a one-page status report or filling out a common form. Post the map in the office and make sure people know about walking wellness by using your office communication channels - newsletters, announcements, company meetings. Keep it fun by building weight-loss teams, setting up races or organizing healthy picnics and athletic activities around the walking wellness route.
Here are some other walking wellness tips from Tom Weede, author of The Entrepreneur Diet: The On-the-Go Plan for Fitness, Weight Loss, and Healthy Living:
* Make sure to link walking wellness to work objectives. Employees need to be reassured that these walks are part of their responsibility to be healthy and productive. They're not personal errands that need to be compensated for by longer days at the office.
* Keep healthy snacks in the office.
* Reinforce the walking wellness message by regular mentions in communication channels.
* Set up a health-related benefit that walking wellness participants can use for health-related expenses.
Make walking wellness a part of your company's plan to encourage fitness and cut healthcare costs - and start by contacting Employee Wellness USA for healthcare management tools that fit you.
