Why healthy challenges at work are a win-win
As workplace wellness programs have gotten more popular, they've also gotten better. Over time, industry leaders have been really listening to the businesses they serve. They have transformed traditionally big, over reaching, results-based disease management programs into smaller, more engaging programs that focus on changing behaviors and making life as easy as possible for the people implementing these programs at work.
And one way of accomplishing all of these goals is to offer your wellness programs in short-term challenges. Take a look at all of the programs on the market today, and you'll see that wellness challenges have become extremely popular in recent years.
Top 5 reasons
Here's a list of the top 5 reasons a wellness challenge is the right choice for your employee wellness program:

Engaging: Wellness programs only work if people actually use them. Presenting your wellness offerings in a challenge format takes advantage of all of the psychological factors we know make people more likely to engage in health and wellness programs. Wellness challenges are by their very nature gamified, social, incentivized, and competitive.
Accessible: Modern life is overwhelming￢ﾀﾔmost of us don't have room in our brains for one more thing. When we set results-based goals for employees, like "lose weight" for example, the task can seem daunting and people often don't know where to start. Instead, when we give people realistic behavior modifications, like ￢ﾀﾜtake an extra 1,000 steps this month,￢ﾀﾝ it allows people to participate without too much work on their part.
Easy to Implement: The key to a good wellness program is the person who implements it. That person is more likely to be successful when they have all the tools they need from the get-go. Thanks to technology, most wellness challenges now come pre-packaged and easy to use￢ﾀﾔyou don't have to make them up yourselves. In most cases, you'll receive a toolkit with all of the promotional communications, supporting materials, and incentives you need to begin right away.
Flexibility: Sometimes we don't know what works until we try it and it fails miserably. Wellness challenges are short term, which means that you can try several different things in one year. For example, walking, healthy eating, and stress reduction are all simple, short-term challenges you could try in just a few months. Test out different companies and see what works for your business before committing to long-term or expensive contracts.
Raise Awareness: There's a certain amount of hullabaloo that comes along with a wellness challenge. Because they're competitive, social, and fun, it's necessary for them to be very public as well. Introducing a walking challenge, for example, can have greater outcomes than just getting people to take more steps. When healthy behaviors are visible in social settings, like offices, they have a trickle-down effect. All of the people participating in the challenge may decide to eat healthier at lunch because they're feeling better, while someone who doesn't participate may still see all of the communications and speak to their overweight spouse about the importance of walking. The visibility of these challenges allows you to begin to emphasize a culture of health in your office, and the benefits will far outlive the challenge itself.

Try a unique one-day wellness challenge at your business!
The average American now spends more than 50 hours a week sitting down, and it's no surprise where most of that sitting is occurring￢ﾀﾔat work. So to raise awareness about the importance of increasing your activity levels throughout the day, we￢ﾀﾙre challenging you to try to keep up with the most active being in the universe: a 3 year old boy.
On June 12, we'll be tweeting and sharing pictures and stories as almost 3 year old Jack Soltanoff (my son) runs, climbs, creeps, and crawls through his daily life. Post back a picture of you and your co-workers moving when Jack moves for a unique opportunity to get healthy, and the chance to win some great prizes!
Move When Jack Moves is a great way to do something healthy at your place of work (or even on your own!), with minimal effort and a lot of fun. 





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To take the challenge with us, download our free Toolkit, follow Voom on Twitter and Facebook, and then on June 12, Move When Jack Moves!
Be on the lookout for more fun challenges
And after the event, we'll provide you with additional resources to help make Move When Jack Moves part of a larger and longer challenge you can participate in. So be sure to look for those emails and blog posts as the event nears.
Have you taken part in any fun health challenges at your job? What made them successful? Tell us in the comments below!
Photo Credit: Daily Endorphin
http://blog.voomwell.com/blog/bid/387410/Top-5-Reasons-to-Launch-a-Wellness-Challenge-in-Your-Office