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Employee Health and Fitness Day: Get Your Workforce Moving

05/02/2011

By Bridget Overson

If you, like us, are always looking for creative ideas to motivate employees, I might have just the solution for May. National Employee Health & Fitness Day is the third Wednesday in May each year. This year, it will be on May 18. Administered annually by the National Association for Health & Fitness, it is a national health observance, created to promote the benefits of physical activity for individuals through their work site health promotion activities. Founded in 1989, National Employee Health and Fitness Day has enlisted tens of thousands of participants from employers around the world.

There are many ways you can participate in NEHF with your company. Don’t be afraid to add other initiatives along with a walking or other exercise campaign. Here are some ideas to get you started with brainstorming:

• Declare a casual day and promote “wear your sneakers to work.” Organize a 30-minute walk during lunch, or ask management whether they would allow work time to be used for this occasion. If a casual day won’t work in your workplace, you can still encourage employees to bring their sneakers and get out walking during lunch.
• If your facility is not already smoke free, organize a smoke free day. Provide resources for smokers who are interested in quitting.
• Do you have an onsite cafeteria? Offer a healthy lunch, and provide nutrition information. If you don’t have a cafeteria, ask management whether they would be willing to purchase fruit to be left in the break room for the day.
• Invite a wellness company provide a lunch and learn lecture, onsite wellness challenge, blood pressure screening clinic, or wellness fair.
• There may be 5K walks or other local events in honor of NEHF.  Research what is going on near you, and see about getting your company involved.

Regardless of how you celebrate it,  Employee Health and Fitness Day is a great way to promote employee wellness in your organization.