Exercise

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Everybody get moving

We’re all familiar with the health benefits of exercise — such as more energy, lower stress, and a stronger body. Bring these benefits into your workplace to sharpen employees’ minds, build better teamwork, and drive stronger business performance.

People who did not previously make exercise a priority have made exercise a habit. Center Unified School District has employees walking and running in 5K races, training for half marathons, and pushing themselves further than they ever dreamed they could.

– Tami J. Beily, Center Unified School District

Take the first step toward a healthier work life

With the Walking for Workforce Health Toolkit you can help reduce the impact of inactivity on your bottom line. There’s no special equipment involved. And it’s easy on your budget. The full interactive toolkit is available for download below.

Due to the pandemic, some of the tips and tools provided in this kit may not align with CDC-recommended safety guidelines for COVID-19 prevention. For additional information, please visit cdc.gov.

Identify opportunities for healthy changes

What to do

Get leadership endorsement.

Present a business case to your leadership team that focuses on the benefits of exercise and walking.
Have your leadership demonstrate their commitment to your company’s walking program.
Ask leaders to host leadership walks.
Ask leadership to support and implement environmental changes like unlocking stairwells and allowing time for walking breaks.

Gather baseline organization data.

Survey your employees on their interest in a walking program.
Take a look at your facility to see if it’s set up to make walking easy for employees.

Tools and resources

Build a case for workforce health shows how to engage leadership with facts and figures.
Learn about the value of a walking meeting external link.
Gauge readiness and measure results with our employee interest survey on walking.
Create your own free surveys with SurveyMonkey external link or Google external link.
For more ideas, see our employee health interest survey.
Assess the walkability of your workplace with this worksite walkability audit tool. external link

Tips

Learn how to make meetings healthier with the Healthy Meetings Guide.
To generate more responses, keep surveys brief and limit open-ended questions.
Map out and share potential walking routes at your location.
Encourage employees to walk, bike, or take public transportation to work.

Introduce the program to your employees

What to do

Form a wellness committee to manage your program.
- Identify walking ambassadors among leadership, in different departments, and on different campuses to serve as walking program advocates.
Create your program.
- Decide on a program name.
- Based on your survey results, set goals to support your employees in walking 30 minutes a day, five days a week. For example:
- Set benchmarks to measure your success:
Plan your promotional strategy.
- Plan fun activities like:
  - program kickoff event
  - Walk with a Friend Day
  - Walk to Lunch Wednesday
  - Take the Stairs Thursday
- Create a communications plan to spread the word.
- Create a calendar of events to solidify your plan.
Prepare to track progress.
- Give employees tools to track their walking efforts.

Tools and resources

Wellness Committee Toolkit
Healthy Meetings Guide
Get program inspiration with Every Body Walk! external link
Use this goal-setting worksheet to set your program goals.
Start walking clubs with help from the American Heart Association Walking Club external link or use this guide to establishing worksite walking clubs external link.
Walking program promotional materials:
- Lunch on the Go flyer
- Find your path to good health poster
Check out our monthly health topics.
Align with national health observance days external link.
5 tips to communicate workplace wellness external link
Getting results-based wellness communications right external link
Monthly walking Log
Daily walking journal external link
Map My Walk mobile app external link

Tips

Keep your goals easy to achieve so employees stay motivated.
Tap into your existing communications channels — newsletters, leadership emails, workplace intranet, break rooms, etc.

Roll out your walking program

What to do

Kick off your program.
- Host a fun event to launch your program, create some buzz, and engage your employees. Some ideas to consider:
  - video screenings
  - worksite walkathon
  - walking program sign-ups and pledges
Get your employees motivated.
- Post promotional materials.
- Circulate educational material.
- Have leadership send encouraging messages.
- Schedule leadership walks with executive/management sponsors.
Keep the momentum going.
- Profile walking program participation in your organization’s communications — individuals, walking clubs, and success stories.
- Reward participants for meeting program milestones.

Tools and resources

Participation pledge form external link
Enroll in exercise classes external link offered at Kaiser Permanente medical facilities.*
Walking program promotional materials
- Lunch on the go flyer
- Find your path to good health poster
Tips to boost calories burned walking external link
Get Out and Walk infographic external link
Tips on how to walk for your health external link
Advice on how to get moving, keep moving external link

Tip

Consider launching your program on National Walking Day. external link

* Not all classes are available at all Kaiser Permanente medical facilities or in all regions. Check your nearest facility for class lists. Select classes are open only to Kaiser Permanente members, but others may be offered to nonmembers for a fee.

Measure your program’s success

What to do

Evaluate your success.
- Survey participants and capture results.
Share your results.
- Post program results in company break rooms.
- Send results via email and/or include in your organization’s newsletter.

Tools and resources

Have employees fill out the “end of program” portion of the employee interest survey on walking.
Create your own post-program surveys with SurveyMonkey external link or Google external link.
For more ideas, see our employee health interest survey external link.

Get started with the Walking for Workforce Health Toolkit

Download the Toolkit

Additional Resources

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Exercise

Everybody get moving

Take the first step toward a healthier work life

Identify opportunities for healthy changes

Introduce the program to your employees

Roll out your walking program

Measure your program’s success

Get started with the Walking for Workforce Health Toolkit

Additional Resources

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