This article suggests ways to get your employees moving by encouraging and supporting their involvement in local community events, such as events related to health themes or in support of “good causes.”

By promoting and supporting employee participation in a variety of events, it helps to demonstrate to employees and others that you are committed to active living, healthy workplaces and your community. It also shows that you are serious about helping your employees gain important health benefits from being more physically active.

Choose One or More Events to Support
If your company is not quite sure where to start, try choosing one event to begin with. The good news is that you don’t have to do all the groundwork by coming up with themes or launching events on your own.

In fact, in most cases, you can easily “piggyback” onto one or more local events simply by encouraging as many employees as possible to register.

For instance, there are a multitude of 10 km runs that are often organized in support of charitable or non-profit organizations. Most of these events have secondary events near the same time, such as a shorter 3 or 5 km run, or a short-distance walking event. With more choices, your employees will likely be able to participate in the event that is most appropriate for their current fitness level.

Another example is the World Health Organization’s Move for Health Day. This is a good day to get your employees involved in a physical activity or local event.

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To help identify your options over the course of a year, refer to local event listings, and consult with local groups and event organizers. One example of an online resource is Health Canada’s Online Calendar of Health-Related Days (refer to the link below). The calendar lists health-related days, weeks and months that have been announced by recognized health organizations and are recognized throughout the health professional community.

Events related to chronic disease prevention are often well-established in many communities. For example, February is Heart Month and November is Diabetes Month. Find out about different events or activities that employees can participate in during the month. Or, develop your own plans and events to bring these issues to employees, creating opportunities for employee education and physical activity.

The events that your employees get involved in do not always have to involve physical activity. Your company and employees can also choose to support events that relate to healthy eating or other aspects of healthy, active living.

Nutrition Month is an excellent time to introduce employees to healthy eating in the workplace. This month is a good time to discuss healthy eating topics and ideas, or to present information to employees via posters and newsletters.

Consider holding a contest for the best healthy recipe, or host a company-wide healthy potluck lunch! Boost interest and participation by having prizes, such as food vouchers for healthy food products or eateries.

Launching Your Own Events
Although launching your own events can be time-consuming in terms of paid staff or volunteer time, your employees may be willing to play a part by sitting on an organizing committee or taking on other key roles.

Bring up the topic for discussion at staff meetings, and see where it leads! Be careful not to overload individuals with too many tasks, as this may reduce the goodwill and energy you are creating as part of your healthy workplace or workplace wellness initiatives.

If you already have established internal committees, such as a formal or informal health and safety committee, or a social committee, use these forums to regularly address health and physical activity topics in the workplace.

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Once you establish a routine of talking about active living regularly, then more ideas and potential activities will be presented and discussed. Over time, your employees can help you, as an employer, to develop a full menu of physical activity options and ideas for all staff.

Everyone Benefits
Employee participation in health promotion or other types of local events where they can be physically active is a good news story, because everyone benefits.

• Employees benefit on a personal level, by getting the health benefits of being more active.
• In general, group activities are usually good for employee morale; plus, it’s good for the company when employees are healthy.
• Local events or organizations will benefit from having more people involved.
• Your company can create goodwill in the wider community, by showing corporate and employee support for an event or organization.
• Whether an activity is for one day, month-long or year-round, it can build camaraderie among employees, and strengthen collaborations and interactions among staff and management.
• Participation in different events over the year promotes individual health, helps to create a healthy social environment at work, and has a positive impact on employee health and well-being overall.

Bigger Steps, More Events
When you, your company or your internal committee is ready for more of a challenge, you may wish to consider launching a physical activity or event that runs over a certain period of time. 

For instance, you could design a challenge that allows employees to track their walking or cycling distances, or number of stairs climbed.  Health Canada’s Stairway to Health program offers a taste of this approach.

At the Stairway to Health website, you can track the number of stairs climbed and convert it to distance travelled.  There are different mountains to climb, or for really big companies there is now a feature that lets you walk all the way to the moon!

Another more involved type of event is a “Corporate Challenge.” In large cities like Edmonton and Calgary, this is typically a month-long event composed of many different activities, from soccer to darts to tug-of-war.  It is designed for companies of all sizes.

All you have to do is organize your team and enter different events. Again, this type of event doesn’t require too much company time or involvement, and the payback is a wide-open opportunity for large numbers of employees to be involved. The wide range of activities helps to give employees more choices, so they can better pick a sport or event that they like.

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Power to the People
Employee participation in health promotion events empowers them on a personal level. Plus, the more employees that are involved, the better it is for staff morale. In general, it’s good for any company or organization when employees are involved in healthy, active living, at work and at home.

Employers can show leadership by supporting and encouraging healthy behaviours among their employees. By promoting and endorsing employee participation in local, community-driven events, it demonstrates a real commitment to creating and providing a healthy workplace.

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Learn More

Calgary Corporate Challenge

Be an MS Corporate Hero
Events in support of the Multiple Sclerosis Society of Canada. Register a staff team to participate in a walk, bike tour or golf tournament.

Calendar of Health Promotion Days
Health Canada’s list of health-related days, weeks and months that have been announced by recognized health organizations.

Terry Fox Run
Various events in support of cancer prevention and research.

Stairway to Health
Developing a Stairway to Health Program is a fun and easy way to get employees active in the workplace.