Definitions:

Exercise - engage in physical activity to sustain or improve health and fitness

Play - engage in activity for enjoyment and recreation rather than a serious or practical purpose

Be honest. Which one—exercise or play—would you rather do? Chances are you (as well as your employees) prefer play. But why choose? Consider instead how you can make physical activity fun. By adding entertainment value, you will increase the chances of getting your employees to move more, whether at home or work.

At work:

• Establish a walking route by your building. Routes of ½ to 1 mile are best for quick breaks during the workday. Create and post a map of the route to encourage employees to try it. (Search for “create a walking map” to find various online apps that can help you.) Once a route is set, create a “poker walk” or similar activity to get employees out walking.
• Give “walk or work” coupons. Employees can use the coupon to take a 15-minute activity break at their discretion. Or create a “walk or work” policy that allows all employees to take one 15-minute break a day to go for a walk, shoot hoops, or other options.
• Allow and encourage walking meetings. If unsure of the benefits, check out this article from the Harvard Business Review.
• Sponsor mini-competitions of hula-hoops, ping-pong, or relays. Short breaks in the day that stimulate the body also stimulate the brain and make employees more creative and productive.

Away from work:

• Subsidize participation, or sponsor a team, in a community race. This is a great incentive for those with a competitive side, and helps employees be active while doing good. A few spring options include American Diabetes Association Tour de Cure, Minnesota Stroke Association Strides for Stroke, or American Cancer Society Relay for Life.
• Organize an employee sports equipment swap.
• Start a “Time off for Fitness” policy that allows employees to exchange unused PTO, vacation, or sick leave hours for the purchase of sports equipment, club memberships, or activity classes (yoga, spinning, etc.).
• Promote the Hennepin County Step To It Challenge during the month of May. This free event pits city against city in a competition for the “most active city” award. Individuals choose the Hennepin County suburb they want to support.

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Click here to read this month's E-tips for your employees: "Play time!"

To share these E-tips with employees, you can:  

• Email the E-tips document to your staff as an attachment. 1) Click the link to download and save the E-tips to your computer. 2) Add your organization's logo in the bottom left corner. 3) Then send it as an email attachment to staff. 
• Print the document once you've added your organization's logo and post it in a common area in your workplace.
• Copy and paste the text into your organization's newsletter.

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