Remote work is no longer an exception but the norm. Although many people like working from home, with myriad benefits, remote and hybrid work arrangements aren’t without their challenges. For example, some employees thrive and are more productive when around others in person, and several employers report it can be challenging to keep remote teams engaged. Some unwanted side effects of remote work include increased work hours that can lead to employee burnout. 

But is there a way to remove some negative aspects of remote work? Absolutely! One of the best ways is to hold an organizational wellness challenge. And when you use state-of-the-art virtual venue technology, it’s easier than ever to encourage participation and team building.

Strategies for Success

When employees are distributed, successfully handling the administration of a virtual wellness program can seem daunting. However, there are a few strategies for successfully putting a virtual wellness program in place:

• Form a cross-functional team. To create the wellness program, be sure to include managers, line-level employees, and Human Resources. Create a virtual office to really tie the culture together.
• Make your challenge team-based. Use a leaderboard to track daily progress and provide incentives to keep everyone motivated. 
• Create a virtual environment. This will enable your participants to virtually check in and log activity. The environment can also include features that allow employees to chat, meet online, and encourage each other at every step. Good platforms will also allow you to brand your virtual environment and make employees feel as though they are physically in your offices. 
• Create a series of wellness-related events. Create events where employees can participate and earn points to redeem for winnings or competition. For example, you could schedule an online yoga class, a lunch-and-learn, or a family fitness class. Any activities that keep employees engaged, active, and feeling like they are part of a team are worth pursuing.
• Make emotional and mental health a priority. Your wellness programming should include various activities focusing on physical fitness and balance, sleep, mindfulness, stress management, finances, and more. You might also want to include mental health in your benefits fair. You can allow employees to meet one-on-one with a therapist or a health coach. 

Virtual Wellness Challenge Ideas

Do a little research, and you’ll quickly discover the list of wellness challenge ideas is lengthy. Here are some ideas that can get your team going:

• Step Challenge: Budget permitting, send a Fitbit to each staff member and host a competition to see who gets the most steps each day. Also, offer an incentive at the end of the month for employees who reach their goals. Be sure your event platform has technology that can support customized integrations for a hassle-free event setup.
• Exercise: Many event tech integrations allow businesses to bring employees together to exercise. Take advantage of these and schedule online workout classes. Holding fitness classes online is one of the easiest ways to increase engagement while ensuring everyone keeps their wellness in check.
• Meditation Moments: A virtual event platform can allow your team to participate in guided meditation with a certified instructor. This can be a great way to help employees manage stress. If you’re looking to throw in an additional perk, you can supplement your online sessions and give employees a subscription to a meditation app.
• Remote stretch breaks: A great way to use virtual engagement tools is by scheduling times for the entire team to log on to the virtual platform and stretch as a collective. Consider holding at least two throughout the day. This helps relieve stress and gives everyone a chance to decompress and mingle with their teammates. 
• Comedy Time: Wellness events don’t always have to be associated with exercise. Hire a comedian to perform on the virtual event platform or start a live-stream game like Pictionary. Laughter creates an environment where people are happy and more productive.
• Lunch on Us: Send employees discount codes for popular restaurants that serve and/or deliver lunch. Then, schedule a lunch session, where everyone visits virtual breakout rooms and mingles during lunch. 
• Financial Literacy Workshops: Stress is a byproduct of finances for some employees. Take a proactive approach and host financial literacy workshops.
• Storytime: Employee book clubs are growing in popularity. Choose a book with themes related to your industry or to desired employee traits such as leadership or teamwork, and then use your virtual event platform to hold roundtable discussions about the book.
• Health Fair: Health fairs don’t have to take place in person. Host a virtual health fair and allow employees to consult with a therapist, attend a presentation on stress management, participate in a workout session, enter contests or giveaways for at-home health and wellness products and services, and more.
• Journaling: Remember when the teacher had everyone look at a prompt and journal for 15 to 30 minutes? The same thing can occur virtually with employees. You can give them a professional or personal prompt and then provide time for those who wish to share and discuss their entries to meet.
• Co-working Sessions: Working from home can be lonely for some, especially those who enjoy the daily buzz of an office. Scheduling active coworking sessions a few times a week, where everyone logs on to the virtual environment while doing their work, can encourage interactions.
• Games: Virtual games are always a hit and can help ease tension and bring the team closer together. From bingo to an online scavenger hunt, many ways exist to engage and encourage teams to collaborate. There are even online escape rooms, where teams work together to solve puzzles and “escape” from a room.
• Social Gatherings: Transform your virtual platform into a social space where everyone gathers with healthy beverages and snacks to mingle with their colleagues. You can even watch a movie or concert together.
• Wellness Challenge Guide: You know what’s better than hosting a wellness challenge? It is giving your employees a guide to wellness. When you provide your team with a wellness challenge guide, you can help them start and continue their own wellness journey on their own or even start a wellness challenge for the whole family or group of friends. Giving your employees the tools and guidance to do it themselves will help your remote workers feel more valued.

Implemented at 6C

Here at 6Connex, we practice what we preach. We host a variety of cultural and wellness challenges and activities to keep our global company connected.Our culture committee hosts monthly gatherings for our 6Connex employees, including; virtual cocktail hours, fitness challenges, and family fun pumpkin decorating. Creativity is constantly flowing when planning these virtual get-togethers. Each quarter we host a virtual event that we call “Extravaganza.” Our employees join us from across the globe to have fun, connect and celebrate each other.

Create a Virtual Wellness Challenge with 6Connex

Whether you host a virtual health fair, a yoga class, or an online lower back exercise routine, your team will realize a newfound appreciation for your organization when you take steps to ensure everyone is maintaining good health and well-being. There are quite a few virtual event products on the market that can help you create a culture of wellness, but finding one that has everything you need and that can be customized for your company is key. 

No virtual platform is the same, and there’s no one-size-fits-all. That's why the 6Connex team will work with you to ensure you get the right product for your organization whether that's in-person, hybrid, or virtual. For more information, request a virtual event platform demo today.

BizBash and 6Connex joined forces to explore the future of work culture. Join industry professionals for engaging education sessions, panel discussions, and a Q&A. Watch the on-demand below.