Pay Stub Messages / Email Attachments

Include tips on physical activity (e.g. easy ways to get physical activity into your day, cheap physical activities) or notices of upcoming events (e.g., physical activity challenges in the workplace) on employee pay stubs. Use company-wide emails to encourage physical activity by including a “top exercise” with instructions and pictures, or a quick fact on physical activity at the bottom of the email.

Sports Fair

Expose employees to many different sporting and recreation opportunities available to them in the community by organizing a Sports Fair. Invite local sporting and recreation clubs/groups to set up displays and provide information. This will allow employees to learn about the sport and the supporting organizational body without having to make any time or financial commitment.

Lunch and Learn

Host a presentation to educate employees on physical activity. You can invite fitness professionals (e.g. personal trainers, fitness instructors) to provide ideas and safety tips. Consider having a “learn to run” session to encourage people to build up to running a 5K race in the community for a good cause (possibly as a team from the workplace!).

Walk Across Canada

Encourage friendly competition in your workplace by organizing a “Walk Across Canada” or a similar physical activity challenge. Employees can compete individually or form teams to accumulate enough kilometres to travel across the city, region, or country. Teams can be made up of employees from different floors, departments, or other groups found in the workplace.

To make it easier for participants to complete the challenge, use a formula to calculate how much distance each minute of exercise equals (e.g. 1 minute of activity = 2 kilometres). Team members must track the number of kilometres they cover, and group leaders gather and report the total distance for the team. Set a reasonable time limit for the challenge (e.g. 2 weeks to 2 months). Provide individual participants or team captains with a list of rules/guidelines that help to define the types of physical activity that can be included in the contest. Alternatively, a pedometer can be used to count the number of steps taken by each participant. This can encourage employees to include walking in their day, which is a great part of an active lifestyle.

Post a large map for the teams to see and mark the kilometres or steps as they are completed each week. Participants can be physically active during their breaks or after work. The team that has travelled the furthest distance at the end of the challenge will be the winner. Prizes should mirror the challenge and promote physical activity or other healthy behaviours.

Keep Your Muscles In Motion

Sitting in one place for long periods of time (i.e. at a computer station) may cause stress and tension in the upper neck and lower back. Encourage employees to take the time to stretch by distributing copies of the posters, “Stretching for the Active Workplace” and “Stretching for the Office Workplace”. These posters can be downloaded from the Poster page, printed, and displayed in your workplace!

Start a Walking Group

Start a walking group to encourage employees to walk during breaks or on their own time.

The Windsor-Essex County Health Unit has a Windsor-Essex Walks at Work Resource kit that provides helpful information for starting and participating in a workplace-walking club. It contains a manual for both the team leader and walking participants. There is also a full colour poster to display at your workplace to help recruit participants. To obtain printed copies of this resource, please call 519-258-2146 ext. 3100, or download the Resource Kit to print your own!

Employee Day Picnic

1. Employees can sign up in teams or individually for a variety of fun games. Offer a variety of active games like Ultimate Frisbee, soccer, slow pitch, or ball games.
2. Organize a “healthy snack food station” where employees can choose from a selection of food items to create a healthy snack such as fruit kabobs using cut-up fruit (e.g., pineapple, cantaloupe, strawberries, oranges, or grapes). Be sure to supply a lot of water or 100% fruit juices for hydration.
3. Contact various recreational leagues from the area to come in and talk about their adult divisions that employees can sign up for (possibly with a buddy from work).
4. Organize a large relay race for employees to complete in teams. Make sure the focus is fitness, but in a fun, all-inclusive format.

Active Family Outing

Foster social connections and physical activity by organizing a family outing. Consider renting a room at a community centre, indoor facility (e.g. skating rink, swimming pool), or outdoor recreation area (e.g. local farm/orchard, municipal park). The event could be seasonal or related to an upcoming holiday. Include a variety of physical activities to choose from (some geared towards the adults, and some for children). Have prizes and offer nutritious snacks at the event.

Fitness Break

Bring in a qualified fitness professional to lead a class in yoga, tai chi or simple desk stretching to introduce employees to active ways of relieving daily stress. Invite all employees to take part. When securing the services of a fitness professional, it is important to find an individual with appropriate qualifications to ensure instruction is safe and effective. The following is a list of the organizations that provide certification in the fitness field:

• Canadian Fitness Professionals (CanFitPro)
• Canadian Personal Trainers Network (CPTN)
• American College of Exercise (ACE)
• Ontario Fitness Council (OFC)
• YMCA of Canada

*Ensure that the instructor you select is properly trained and certified.

Stairway to Health Program

Consider adding a Stairway to Health Challenge to your workplace health promotion program if your workplace has stairs. Using the stairs will give employees the opportunity to “walk off” some of their frustrations. Visit The Public Health Agency of Canada for more information on Health Canada’s Stairway to Health website including ideas and “how to” information.