Here is our list of the best online wellness ideas for work.
Online wellness ideas for work are activities, challenges, and exercises that promote employees’ well-being in their work and personal lives. Examples include financial management conferences, daily step challenges, and reflection sessions. These ideas aim to ensure that employees are mentally, physically, and financially healthy.
These activities are examples of remote employee engagement ideas.
This list includes:
- online wellness ideas for work meetings
- online wellness ideas for work from home
- online corporate wellness ideas
- online wellness activities for the office
So here we go!
List of online wellness ideas for work
Incorporating online wellness programs and activities into your company’s culture can encourage workers to lead healthy lifestyles. From virtual book clubs to daily step challenges, here are the best wellness ideas you can try out at work.
1. Virtual Care Packages
Sending a virtual care package to employees is one of the best online corporate wellness ideas. First, plan the contents. The idea is to curate a cozy box that will facilitate a relaxing experience for employees. Depending on your employees’ interests, you can curate a package containing novels, motivational books, candles, and healthy snacks.
Or, you can pack a gift box with items you can use for an at-home spa treatment items like sheet masks, bath salts, and soap bars. You can also add a gift tag containing a short wellness quote to the box.
For instance:
- “Self-care is how you take your power back.” -Lalah Delia
- “Your body hears everything your mind says.” -Naomi Judd
- “Health is a state of body. Wellness is a state of being.” -J. Stanford
- “Take care of your body. It’s the only place you have to live in.” -Jim Rohn
- “Happiness is the highest form of health.” -Dalai Lama
You can pack the box yourself or use the service of an online gift packaging company.
2. Reflection Session
A reflection session helps participants view past events with positivity and gratitude. This activity shows employees how much progress they are making and can also be a great source of motivation. Hosting a reflection session does not require any formal planning. You can decide to dedicate a day to the session or use your free time, like your lunch break.
During a reflection session, attendees will take turns looking back at their challenges and how they dealt with the issues. Even if attendees are still amidst these obstacles, a reflection session can help your employees gauge their progress and appreciate the efforts. Furthermore, the challenges employees share with the team do not necessarily have to be work-related. Also, you should remind participants that there is no compulsion to share confidential information.
3. Online Yoga
Doing yoga with colleagues is one of the best online wellness ideas for work from home teams. This activity will improve relaxation for employees and boost the team’s morale. You can partner with a yoga studio to take your group through the exercise. Also, you can embark on a 30-day yoga challenge to encourage regular exercise. During these days, employees will do yoga daily at their convenient time. Then participants will report each day of doing yoga to the company’s board.
If you are on a tight budget, then you can use a yoga video on YouTube as a guide. You can meet with employees on a video conferencing platform and do yoga together on the scheduled days. A great idea to get your team prepared for the activity is sending employees a yoga gift box. The package should contain yoga essentials like a stopwatch, elastic bands, and a customized water bottle. On the other hand, employees can substitute yoga tools for items easily found at home. For instance, a hardcover book is an excellent substitute for yoga blocks, and a blanket will pass for a yoga mat. You might want to educate your team members on the basics of yoga during the sessions.
4. Desk Cleaning Challenge
A clean workspace can be a great game-changer for employees. There are many ways you can motivate employees to keep their desks clean. For instance, ask team members to make a video showing how they make their workspace clean.
Since employees might need several days to clean up, you can set up the challenge to last for a few days or weeks. You can also plan a “desk organization day” when employees can dedicate the entire day to cleaning their desks. After, schedule a virtual meeting where employees can show off their newly organized desks. To further motivate employees, you can award prizes for the most organized, creative, beautiful, and paperless desks. In addition, you can send employees a gift package containing deck decor like desk organizers, mugs, and jute pots.
5. Healthy Meal Planning Program
Organizing a healthy meal planning program is one of the best online wellness ideas for work. This activity will go a long way in helping your employees adopt a healthy eating lifestyle. During the program, you and your employees can sit together to discuss your views on a healthy meal.
You can first start by educating your employees on the concept of meal planning. Healthy meal planning does not necessarily mean relying on homemade food. Next, ask employees to take turns discussing what their everyday meals look like and how to make a difference. Also, ask employees to set specific goals, such as weight loss, increased fiber intake, or even a gluten-free diet. You can also share healthy meal recipes to help employees improve their cooking.
6. Online Fitness Classes
An online fitness class can be a great solution in helping many employees resolve challenges faced with fitness while working from home. Plus, exercising with your colleagues can motivate and make the session fun. To host an online fitness class, decide on the person to lead the class. You can hire a fitness instructor or have an experienced employee volunteer to lead your group. You might want to customize the exercise routine to match your team members’ level.
Also, create a schedule for the activity. You can do the activity once a week or as a ten-minute warm-up session every morning. After working out, ask for feedback from your employees.
7. Stress Management Workshop
Organizing a stress management workshop for employees is one of the best online wellness activities for the office. This workshop will go a long way in improving your employees’ mental and physical wellness. You can book a virtual stress management session with an expert on Airbnb.
Stress management workshops often teach attendees how to manage stress through lifestyle factors, including sleep and diet. Your employees can also learn how to recognize and manage stress triggers. This skill helps employees learn to deal with stress at work and in their personal lives. During the workshop, you can boost engagement by asking attendees to share their preferred techniques for managing stress.
You can check out this stress management workshop by Work to Wellness.
8. Hydration Challenge
Hydration Challenges are one of the best online wellness challenges you can do with your colleagues. The goal is for employees to increase their water intake while reducing sugary and caffeinated beverages. Participants will consume an average of eight glasses of water per day.
You can hold the challenge for a specific number of days. Also, create a cloud-based spreadsheet using an online tool like Excel, Google Sheet, and WPS Office. Then each participant will write the amount of water consumed per day on the spreadsheet. Then each participant will write the amount of water consumed per day on the card. You can gift participants reusable bottles to promote environmental sustainability while on this challenge. You can also email workers every morning as a reminder to increase their water intake.
Another option is to post a reminder in a Slack channel, and ask teammates to click a number or waterdrop emoji for each glass of water consumed throughout the day.
9. Cooking Classes
You can host a virtual cooking class if you plan to encourage healthy eating at work. During the session, attendees get to prepare a healthy meal from the comfort of their homes. First, choose a dish. You should consider the dietary restrictions of participants or simply provide alternative ingredients that align with employees’ needs. You can have the ingredients shipped to team members or send a list of ingredients and supplies employees will need days before the cooking session.
Depending on your budget, you can partner with a local chef to lead you through the experience. Before the event, create a meeting on a video conferencing app and send an invite link to the participants. During the session, the chef can also educate attendees on the health benefits of the ingredients used in cooking. Alongside learning a new healthy meal recipe, the classes can also be a great way to bond with your team.
10. Virtual Games
Playing games is among the online wellness ideas for work meetings. There are many virtual games you can explore with your team. You can play icebreakers like never have I ever, Bingo, and two truth and one lie. Also, a scavenger hunt will be an excellent option if you prefer a fast-paced activity.
The games you choose to play will depend on the platform you use, including how much time you have. Whether you dedicate a day to playing games at work or do icebreakers right before your virtual meeting, the activities can positively impact your employees’ mental wellness and boost your employees’ morale.
11. Wellness Quotes
You can improve employees’ wellness by making wellness quotes a part of your company’s culture. You can share the quote at the start of every virtual meeting or on the company’s boards.
Here are great wellness quotes to share with colleagues:
- “Our bodies are our gardens – Our wills are our gardeners.” –William Shakespeare
- “Good health is good business.” –Paul Dreschler
- “Take care of your body. It’s the only place you have to live.” –Jim Rohn
- “Our food should be our medicine, and our medicine should be our food.” –Hippocrates
These quotes will go a long way in boosting your employees’ morale, especially during challenging times.
12. Virtual Book Club
Starting a virtual book club with your team members is among the best online wellness ideas for work. Reading books can be a relaxing and therapeutic experience. You can create a group chat and invite interested participants. Next, decide on the books to read. Depending on your preference, the book can be novels, motivational, or healthy lifestyle books. Also, determine the best way for each member to access the books. You can send the book in a gift box or as a PDF file if you are on a low budget, or encourage group members to borrow books from their local libraries.
Furthermore, you can set goals on how many chapters or pages to read per day. Members can report daily on the group chat to monitor their progress and motivate other employees. Also, ask the participants to highlight and share their favorite quotes from the book. You should meet with your colleagues regularly to discuss the book. Therefore, decide on the most convenient platform, from Zoom and Google Hangout to a group FaceTime.
13. Virtual Comedy Shows
Since hearty laughter can reduce stress and improve your employees’ mental wellness, you can host a virtual comedy show for your group. How you choose to host the show depends on your employees’ interests and your budget. You can hire a talented clean, corporate, or stand-up comedian to entertain your team. Alternatively, you look up a comedy show on YouTube or Netflix and watch the video with your colleagues.
If you want to increase engagement, then you can host an open mic instead. During the event, employees will take turns showing their best comedy performances. Regardless of how you choose to have the comedy show, the experience will reduce employee stress.
14. Daily Step Challenge
Daily Step Challenge is an effective means of helping your team get more active physically. Plus, this activity can significantly reduce stress for employees. First, you would want to ensure that your team members get a pedometer, also known as a step counter. This device uses the motion of the user’s hips or hands to count the number of steps taken. Many apps and fitness devices have these mechanisms built-in.
You can set the challenge to last for several days. Then at a particular time each day, each employee posts the number of steps taken on the company’s message board. To motivate employees, you can set aside a reward for the participant who took the most steps. Hosting a daily step challenge remains one of the best online wellness ideas for work from home teams. You can run this challenge multiple times a year to maximize the benefits for participants.
15. Financial Management Conference
Financial problems can take a toll on employees’ personal and work life. You can organize a virtual financial management conference to teach attendees how to manage their finances. You can invite experts in the financial management field to teach your employees essential finance skills.
A financial management workshop opens attendees’ eyes to how to budget and save more money. Also, employees can learn the best techniques for measuring financial health. If you plan to send a virtual gift box to attendees, then adding a book on financial management will be a great idea. Alongside the financial management conference, you can also offer support to employees through loans and workplace saving plans.
16. Motivational Events
Organizing motivational events is one of the most effective online corporate wellness ideas. The idea is to invite a motivational speaker who can add energy and inspiration to your virtual event.
First, be sure that the speaker you hire has reliable experience in performing virtually. Also, decide if the performance by the motivational speaker will be one-way or interactive. In the latter case, your employees can actively communicate with the speaker during the performance. Before the event, understand your guests, including any wellness challenges your employees face. Then the motivational speaker can perform to address these challenges.
Conclusion
Organizing wellness activities is a great way to make your employees feel loved and appreciated while working from home. Besides, the exercises can provide a bonding experience for employers and employees. While planning online wellness activities, be sure to find out the aspects your employees need to address the most. You can break work monotone and prevent burnout by doing wellness activities with employees. Also, mental, physical, and financial wellness keeps employees fit enough to work better. Therefore, you can expect increased productivity while investing time in your employee’s health.
Next, check out these tips for working remotely.
