Employee wellness program ideas your team will actually join

A wellness program only works if people take part. The ideas below are low-cost, inclusive of every role and fitness level, and social by design, so they double as employee engagement and team bonding, not just another perk on a list.

What should be included in a workplace wellness program

A worksite wellness program is a set of activities and resources an employer offers to support employee health. The programs that get used share four ingredients:

• One activity everyone can join. Walking works for office staff, field crews, shift workers and remote employees alike.
• A social layer. Teams, leaderboards and shared goals give people a reason to keep going and to talk across departments.
• A rhythm. A new challenge each quarter beats a catalogue of perks that nobody remembers.
• Respect for privacy. Employees should know exactly what is collected and that managers see aggregates, not personal detail.

12 employee wellness program ideas

1. Company step challenge. Teams compete on daily steps for two to four weeks. See how to choose a step challenge app.
2. Department vs department rivalry. Friendly competition between teams that rarely work together.
3. Virtual destination walk. The whole company walks the distance to a city or landmark together.
4. Charity challenge. Leadership pledges a donation when the company hits a collective distance.
5. Walking meetings. Make one-to-ones and small check-ins a walk by default.
6. Most improved award. Reward progress, not just the fittest people, so everyone has a shot.
7. Wellness hour. A protected hour each month employees can use for activity on work time.
8. Lunchtime walking groups. Easy to start, and a natural team bonding moment.
9. Hydration or sleep week. Short themed weeks between bigger challenges.
10. Mental health check-ins. Pair physical challenges with a reminder of your EAP and mental-health resources.
11. Remote team challenge. Distributed teams compete on the same leaderboard. See remote and hybrid walking challenges.
12. Small, frequent rewards. Gift cards for milestones feel more generous than one big prize. See walking challenges with rewards.

Workplace wellness challenge ideas by season

• Winter: a destination walk to somewhere warm, to keep people moving through the dark months.
• Spring: a department rivalry to restart energy after a long winter.
• Summer: a charity challenge that works around vacations.
• Fall: a "most improved" challenge as routines restart.

Low-cost employee wellness program ideas

Most of the ideas above cost nothing but time. The ones that need a tool, like a tracked step challenge with leaderboards and rewards, can still be inexpensive. Movemint is a flat $1.50 USD per employee per month, billed monthly, with the rewards budget set by you. Use the cost calculator for your headcount. For more benefit ideas see a unique employee benefit people use, and for the engagement angle see employee engagement activities.

How to launch a wellness challenge in a week

1. Pick dates and a theme (two to four weeks works best).
2. Form teams, ideally mixing departments.
3. Set rewards and how they are earned.
4. Invite employees: they join from their phone and steps sync automatically.
5. Share the leaderboard and celebrate milestones as they happen.

Step-by-step detail is in how to launch a company step challenge.

Related guides: Employee engagement activities · Team building activities for work · A unique employee benefit

Movemint is a new product, so this page describes capabilities and practical advice, not customer results. We do not show logos or testimonials we have not earned.

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