7 Simple Steps for Boosting Employee Morale and In-Office Exercise

With so little ‘daylight’ hours available outside of work during the winter season, it can be easy for employee morale to descend into the abyss. Shorter days cause us to exercise less, time usually spent enjoying the company of family and friends post work tends to dwindle, and as a result, our motivation can decrease. To stop this negative feedback loop, we have to employ tactics to boost in-office exercise and employee morale at the spot where we spend the majority of our time: the office!

The following are simple, cost-effective, and fun ways to take work breaks and increase movement around the office:

Steps for In-Office Exercise

1. StandUp Desk. By now, the idea of using a standing desk isn’t exactly a revolutionary idea, but it is valuable nonetheless. Standing desks encourage good posture throughout the day, and accelerate the development of core strength. In the meantime, energy levels increase – it is difficult to fall asleep at your desk or lose awareness of your body when standing up!

Aside from movement & energy, standing desks are also great for workplace morale. Colleagues are more likely to engage you when you are visible and standing, rather than lost within your cubicle. You’ll also be more ready to engage by recognizing previously unseen opportunities, whether it is commenting on the Not-Safe-For-Work images on the screen of your next-door cubicle neighbor, or identifying the perfect times to impress your boss with intelligent conversation.

2.       Sit on a Yoga Ball.  Not everyone can or wants to stand for 9 hours a day. No worries! Simply replace your chair with a yoga ball. Exercise balls don’t provide back support or arm rests, influencing you to sit with a straight backed, core strengthening posture. Having an exercise ball at your disposal can also serve as motivation to do additional stretches or abdominal workouts!

But most of all, having a ball in the premises always leads to GOOD TIMES! There is nothing like playing basketball or soccer with a massive exercise ball. It is sure to boost employee morale and movement.

3.       Group Sun Salutations.  Sun Salutations are a quick and simple form of yoga that can be done in less than 15 minutes, but pay big dividends in physical health and mental clarity. The beauty of the ‘sun salutation’ routine is that it can easily be done within the confines of the office, doesn’t require the dawning of yoga pants, and doesn’t need to be instructed by a yogi! It is also a basic enough exercise where people spanning a wide range of fitness levels can participate. Here is a sample video: Sun Salutation Demonstration.

4.       Group walks.  Depending on where you live, a walk around the block may or may not be possible. If it is possible, a 15 minute hiatus from the office, out in the natural light, is invaluable. While it is a simple tool, sometimes it can be difficult to implement on a daily basis. Here is how to make it easy:

1. Put all interested employees names into a hat.

2. Each morning, choose a name. That person is in charge of leading the group walk.

3. Group leader gets to pick a time that works best for him or her that day.

With this simple system, you’ll take walks consistently and with a variety of people each day, boosting movement and morale in the work place.

Steps for Boosting Employee Morale

The key to boosting employee morale is to build a sense of office community – you’re spending the majority of your daily lives with your co-workers, after all. The key mistake that offices make when trying to boost morale is focusing too much on organizing activities outside of work; the reality is, most of your coworkers are going to avoid work related activities when they can! Instead, organizing community cultivating activities at work is the way to go. Some simple tactics that YOU can implement with little managerial involvement:  

5.       Cornhole.  Cornhole is a simple game involving bean bags and wooden planks set some distance apart from each other. Four participants on two teams face off, with each standing by one of the wooden planks. The goal is to make your bean bags in the opponents ‘cornhole’. Whoever reaches 21 first, wins. I know it sounds rudimentary, but as an office activity, it doesn’t get much better. Here at the detailed instructions:  Cornhole instructions.

This is the case for a few reasons. First is that the game is easily transportable and put away; it won’t be as tough to convince management that this game is a worthwhile or spatially feasible investment when compared to say, a ping pong table. The second reason is that Cornhole is a quick game! That ten minute per hour recommended break that desk dwelling employees should take can be easily fulfilled by a match. The third, and more important reason, is that it is fun! If you find creative ways to choose teams and play tournaments frequently, friendly inner office rivalries will develop quickly! EVERYONE is at a level playing field with this game, so it is a great way to instill some enthusiasm around the workplace.

6.       The Post-It Note game. You know those people in the office who you’ve awkwardly made small talk with, even though you don’t have the slightest idea what their name is, let alone their background. And now it is too late to actually get to know them? If so, THIS IS THE GAME FOR YOU! In this game, every participant writes a famous person (alive or dead, fictional or non-fictional, human or animated) on a post-it, and puts it on the forehead of the person on his or her right. Participants go in a circle, asking one Yes or No question per turn, trying to figure out who they are.

With this game, no one actually has to talk about themselves, but rather can talk about other people’s characters. Everyone has a chance to participate in the conversation, and relate to each other about their hilarious characters, and argue over the answer to any given question is ‘yes’ or ‘no.’ It is an excellent tactic for building work camaraderie. Leave a stack of post-it notes in the lunch area, and let the magic happen!

7.       Bring the happy hour to the office. A little social lubricant is a sure-fire way to boost morale. However, organizing an after work happy hour can be restricting – you may notice that the same faces show up every time (I’m guilty!). Instead, bring the Friday afternoon happy hour to the office, and break out the corn hole and post it notes. Very few people will manage to escape the allure of these festivities, and office morale will be blossoming in no time.

Know a thing or two about Workplace Wellness? What tactics do you use for encouraging office exercise and boosting employee morale? Share your wisdom by leaving a comment!