Unlocking family fitness: How extending wellness benefits boosts well-being for all

Employee fitness is a crucial element of any workplace well-being initiative. And, while individual fitness impacts employee satisfaction, productivity, and health spending, expanding benefits to families unlocks the power of social accountability and enhances overall well-being. How? Because people are more likely to stick with an exercise routine and push themselves harder to meet goals when they have a workout partner. By taking a holistic view that considers an employee's support system beyond the workplace, employers have an opportunity to cultivate dedication from the ground up. 

Better together
Exercising with a partner can get people out the door, make workouts more enjoyable, and make it easier to stick with a routine. Research has shown that people complete 56% more exercise when they work out with others, and exercising with someone fitter makes it easier to exercise at a higher intensity level. In addition, 95% of people who started a weight-loss program with friends completed the program, compared to 76% of those who participated alone. The friend group was also 42% more likely to maintain their weight loss. 

As HR professionals, you know how powerful workplace friendships can be. Still, in today's workplace environment, your team likely spends significantly more time with their families than with their coworkers, making those relationships especially important in any effort to build good lifestyle habits.

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Consider sharing the following creative ideas with your employees to improve participation in wellbeing programs and to support population fitness and well-being:

Make it a family affair
Fitness opportunities that engage the entire family deliver several important benefits. For starters, finding time to work out can be difficult for parents, especially when their kids are young, so giving them the tools to involve family in their workouts can make it easier to incorporate movement into their day. Secondly, family workouts can strengthen relationships, which has been shown to reduce loneliness and improve mental health. Strengthening family health can also help prevent illnesses that might otherwise require employees to miss work due to caregiving responsibilities. 

Provide fitness options for all ability levels
When parents and children work out together, the instruction that is available to them must be as accessible for a grown adult as it is for a youngster with less experience and less muscle mass. Offering virtual, on-demand fitness as part of your benefits package allows employees and their families to engage in physical activity and movement that is easily adaptable for different skill levels. Such solutions also promote family fitness, which can contribute to more lasting engagement and help working parents teach their children healthy routines.

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Make it relevant and interesting for all ages
Just as kids might not have the same physical capabilities as their parents, many will also not have the same interests as their parents. By offering a diverse selection of fitness options, from high-intensity workouts to stretching and yoga, employers can make it easy for families to find something that works for everyone. At LifeSpeak, we have heard from a number of users who say their entire family participates in virtual fitness classes together. 

Offer options just for the kids
Unlike their parents, kids get regular exposure to activity through their physical education classes, recess breaks and school and club sports. Those school activities provide a great starting point for getting parents and their children moving together. Family-friendly fitness activities can also support kids' athletic participation. By providing access to instruction designed to prepare young athletes for their specific sports season, employers can create opportunities for families to be active together, help kids perform better in their chosen activity, and reduce the risk of injuries that may cause distress for parents or even require them to miss work to tend to their injured child.

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Promote outdoor activity
The kids won't always want to go to the gym with their parents, but the entire family can benefit from a group bike ride, a hike in the woods, or a canoe trip. Spending time outside can help people sleep better, leaving them better prepared for the workday, and there is even evidence that children who spend time in nature when they are young may have a reduced risk of mental health conditions later in life. Look for family-friendly outdoor activities in your area and create challenges encouraging your employees to get outside with their families. Then, offer a chance to win fitness-related prizes when employees share their experience in internal communications channels. Those endorsements may, in turn, encourage other employees to try the activity. 

There are even opportunities to turn activities parents are already doing, like gardening, yard work, or volunteering, into fun activities that allow the family to connect with nature while also getting some exercise. If you're interested in connecting your company to the community, consider family-friendly outdoor volunteer activities like park or roadside cleanups or adding casual family activities to team outings. When remote workforces are dispersed across a wide area, tying outdoor activities to specific locations might not be possible. But some of the same principles apply. Challenge employees to get out, ride their bikes and hike in their local parks or offer to sponsor their efforts to adopt a park or highway for cleanup. 

When you're encouraging employees to maintain a healthy attitude about exercise, every bit of motivation helps. Extending fitness benefits to the whole family can help make exercise fun, increase social accountability and improve physical and mental well-being, allowing employees and their families to thrive.