• Develop a launch event to establish excitement about upcoming activities and to set up a social climate that establishes being active as the norm.
• Design and encourage monthly or bi-monthly corporation programs that are fun and active, e.g., picnics with physical games, employee tournaments and dragon boat racing. Urge families to join in by including all-ages programs such as relay races, soccer matches, bocce ball and baseball games.
• Begin a swim club at a local pool. Invite groups of employees to swim the distance of a nearby lake. Convert kilometres to lengths and reward employees who complete the swim. Set up a challenge between employees and managers to see who covers the greatest distance.
• Post a sign-up board where employee can join a group or find a buddy to take part in activities of interest.
• Organize a organization badminton tournament that lasts several months, with each employee playing once a week. Post the results as the tournament progresses.
• Design an office Olympics, World Cup, Wimbledon or Masters Games. Invite teams to compete in several activities over a month. Reward everyone who participates.
• Create a point system in which one minute of activity equals one point. Set a target, and post a chart where all staff members are able to track their points. Reward the first group to reach that target.
• Create a stair climb challenge. Post a chart at the top of the stairwell, and advocate staff members to track the number of flights of stairs they climb each workday. Set up teams, and award a prize to the first group to climb the equivalent of Mount Everest.
• Display and encourage a sign-up board for lunchtime walking groups.
• Design a walk “across this country” Select a route, figure out how many steps it would take to walk that distance and challenge staff members to do it. Give or loan pedometers to staff members, and ask them to record the number of steps they take. Or, if you can’t afford pedometers, track the minutes walked. Set up a challenge between staff members and managers to see who has the potential to walk across this country first.
• Establish a walk to work club. Acknowledge workers who either walk to work or walk to public transit.
• Have a volunteer group leader guide weekly lunchtime power walks.
• Develop a million-step challenge. Form groups, challenge each group to walk a combined total of a million steps and reward the winner. Departments or sites could compete with each other and with management.
• Encourage staff members to walk 10,000 steps a day. Buy pedometers for all participating staff members or, if you can’t afford that, make pedometers available at a reduced rate. Provide tips for increasing daily steps, and reward staff members who succeed.
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