7 Ways How Hosting A Walkathon Benefits Your Entire Workforce

It’s amazing how hosting a company walkathon benefits your employees in a multitude number of ways.

The benefits of walking are not a secret it anyone. Walking is perhaps one of the easiest exercises that a person can do.

The reason walking is so popular across various ages lies in its simplicity. No fancy equipment, no additional gear. Just a pair of running shoes, 30 minutes a day, and you are good to go.

Hosting a walkathon benefits your organization in mainly two ways.

Primarily, it will influence your employees to walk regularly. Secondly, companies benefit from the increase in productivity and engagement- the aftermath of hosting a walkathon.

First of all, what is a walkathon?

A walkathon (or walk-a-thon) is a community-based walking program hosted by an organization to raise funds or gain awareness about a particular cause.

To host a walk-a-thon, different companies can have different motivations.

• To promote a worthy cause such as building awareness of heart diseases.
• Encouraging better health for employees.
• A means of engaging the workforce by “gamifying” their daily walk routines.

Whatever the reason, a walk-a-thon is an efficient engagement activity that promotes your employees’ mental and physical health.

Let’s take a look at how hosting a walkathon benefit your workforce.

7 Ways A Walkathon Benefits Your Organization

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Benefit 1: Wide-Ranging Health Benefits

It’s an easy physical activity that provides a wide range of health benefits. The benefits of walking are not only physical but mental too.

• Reduced the risk of heart disease, i.e., cardiovascular diseases.
• Helps to lose weight.
• Walking strengthens your joints.
• Improves sleep patterns.
• Boosts mood by lowering stress levels.

30 minutes of brisk walking is helpful for people struggling to lose weight, blood pressure problems, joint pains, and mental health issues like anxiety, depression, etc.

Benefit 2: Sense Of Community

Walk-a-thons, though are about achieving individual goals, is a team activity of sorts. In a team, healthy competition is vital for team members to build respect for each other.

It enables everyone to see each other as peers by providing an equal playing field.

The anticipation and rewards can act as strong motivators for employees to bond together.

Part of it is influenced by the feeling of working towards a common goal. Ultimately, this will improve their teamwork by making them better team players.

Benefit 3: Easy To Organize

Walk-a-thons are extremely easy to host and organize. Being a group-oriented activity, it is the perfect health event that businesses can hold.

Additionally, minimal resources required make it a relatively cheap event to host.

To deliver a more appealing experience, consider using some great corporate wellness apps such as Vantage Fit.

Vantage Fit hosts regular company-wide walk-a-thons with creative themes, varying step goals, and easy tracking. The only manual thing for you to do is to decide when to conduct this physical activity.

Benefit 4: Gamification

One reason people tend to avoid physical activity is that there is no instant gratification in it.

To lose weight or to see health benefits takes time. And by the time that it shows, people have already lost interest.

Gamification is the process of turning an everyday activity, such as exercising regularly, into a game of sorts. For “every level” cleared, there is some reward. It satisfies the need for instant appreciation that makes people stick to the very end.

Walkathons can be made very engaging through the use of gamification. For example, completing a set number of steps awards specific points.

Or to see one’s name upon the company leaderboard. These are some of the features that Vantage Fit happens to offer to truly gamify the fitness process for your employees.

Benefit 5: Form Habits

There is a famous saying that,

It takes 21 days to build a habit.

The idea behind it is that if you do a thing every day, such as 30 minutes of walking, it will soon become a habit. Walkathons can inspire employees to establish a walking routine for themselves even after the walking program is over.

Once your employees see the benefits of walking by themselves, they will be further motivated to make a lifestyle change.

With time, your employees will notice the improving physical health and mental clarity that regular exercising brings.

Benefit 6: Better Engagement

Walking is a physical activity that not only improves physical health but decreases stress as well.

A session of 30 minutes of walking every day can improve serotonin levels, boost mood, and disperse stress.

A happy mindset that regular exercise brings contributes to an employee feeling more energized and engaged. Not only will productivity rise but also control the feeling of burnout. All in all, hosting a walkathon benefits your employees’ holistic wellness.

Benefit 7: Raise Awareness

To truly promote employee wellness, you must be able to advocate it properly. Hosting walk-a-thons are a perfect starting point to kickstart your corporate wellness program.

Walk-a-thons are more accessible for everyone to participate in and because people see walking as an achievable feat.

Your employees are more likely to start their health journey with an easy task than a gym challenge. It is the perfect medium to make employees more aware of their health and encourage them to upkeep it.

Finally: Your Thoughts?

Do you think that hosting a walkathon benefits your workforce or company in any way? Tell us in the comments below.