After all of the drama of my previous post, I did obtain a job for the summer! The logistics of how that came about honestly make for a pretty cool story and just reveal how much better God’s plan is than our own. However, that is a story for another day and the only reason I mentioned it is that it is a relevant detail in the otherwise-irrelevant information I am about to share.
The company I work for recently completed a seven week step challenge during which eager and fitness-minded employees across the nation tallied their steps in pursuit of the illustrious prize of a Fitbit. (The irony that those who have clocked the most steps will receive a device to help them clock their steps should be lost on nobody.) Are you inspired? I am. I found out about this life-altering initiative from a generic work email sent to all employees that contained a link to an article about the winners of said challenge. Curious (and desiring a break from the horizontal alignment I was in the middle of trying to design), I clicked the link to learn more about my ambitious and active colleagues.
As irrelevant as this sounds (and is), the article inspired me. No, it did not inspire me to march in place or do jumping jacks as I wait for the subway in pursuit of a Fitbit. Rather, it inspired me to write the piece of literature you will find below:
Last Friday, we concluded our seven-week Step Up Challenge, an initiative lead by Wellness for All, a company-wide program started in 1967 (originally named “Safety for All”) to provide the appropriate safety training for employees working on hazardous construction projects. In 2013, the program was renamed “Health and Safety for All” and included initiatives such as replacing soda with kombucha in company refrigerators and rebranding our weekly "Lunch and Learn" lecture series to “Lunge and Learn”. The final name change (the switch to the more inclusive term “wellness”) came in 2017 when management replaced of all of the desk chairs throughout the office with meditation cushions.
The step challenge was deemed a success, as across the nation, our employees walked, jogged, sprinted, and tip toed a total of 3,234,927 miles, an 11% increase from last year’s results. In an exit survey, 62% of employees reported that they “strongly agreed” that the step challenge encouraged them to increase their daily activity and 57% were “somewhat satisfied” or “extremely satisfied” with their results.
“The last time I had gone for a run was the mandatory mile in 5th grade gym class, but seven weeks ago, I made a commitment to my office and to myself that I would really give this challenge my all. I can proudly say that thanks to this company, in the past seven weeks, I have completed six 5ks and three half marathons. My daughter’s Girl Scout troop had a one-mile fun run the other day and I ran it once by myself and then doubled back and finished it again with my daughter. I know Marcie from HR’s daughter is in the same troop but she only completed the course once. So I guess it’s not surprising that our department was 4th in the region while HR was, what, 9th? I mean I tore my Achilles, but I think the results are pretty clear that, for my health, it was worth it. No pain, no gain, right?“ proclaimed Brooks from the San Antonio office as he checked and double-checked his new Garmin Forerunner 735XT.
“I think what really put my department over the edge was our constant commitment throughout the work day. I actually fired all of the interns and went out and picked up everyone’s coffee each morning myself to increase my steps. I also built a headset to hold my phone right in front of my face so that I can do laps around the office during my Skype conference calls. I’ve been a little late to work a few times because I’ve been walking to the office everyday. Some people think seven miles is excessive, but I know it's worth it. The rest of my department was counting on me and when I’m 80, I know my moderate blood pressure and osteoporosis-free bones will be thanking me,” noted Gina from the Portland branch as she paced back and muttered numbers under her breath.
“I really thought I was healthy before this challenge,” noted Derek from Denver. “But I noticed that even though I was swimming and biking every day, eating well-balanced meals, forming meaningful relationships, and sleeping for 9 hours each night, I just wasn’t taking as many steps as everyone around me. Facing this reality helped me to reevaluate my life choices and cut down the time I spent doing all of those other activities in order to really commit to increasing my step count. At first I felt pretty tired at work because I was sleeping so much less, but I know that the shift was definitely worth it for my health. And I’ve discovered that Mountain Dew really works wonders.”
Employees from across the nation reported feeling “more active”, “healthier” and “more fit” during the challenge. In a final reflection, Mila from Carson City noted, “overall, we lost a number of clients here and there just because we didn’t finish projects on time and missed a couple meetings when we were outside running sprints. But the fact that our company really values our health over its material success is so important to me as an employee. My manager told me they’re closing a couple of offices because of the business we lost, but honestly, for our health, I think it’s worth it.”