LIFT session and LifeWorks improve physical wellbeing at National Bank of Canada
Published by: TELUS Health,
VISION
COVID-19 preventative measures made working from home a reality in 2020. Quickly recognizing the potential negative impact on physical health, National Bank wanted to empower employees to get physically active, develop healthy habits and manage their stress.
National Bank needed this initiative to be accessible to all employees in Canada, regardless of their current fitness level, geographic location or access to fitness facilities. They wanted the initiative to be engaging to ensure high levels of participation and that the initiative would have a positive impact on employees’ health. The company also saw this as an opportunity to unite employees during a period of physical distancing.
GOALS
The 3 main goals of this initiative were:
- Decrease the percentage of employees deemed inactive and/or at risk (those who perform less than 150 minutes of physical activity per week)
- Increase the average physical activity level of all employees and help them manage stress
- Launch an engaging preventative wellness initiative that would encourage high participation
SOLUTION
National Bank launched a company-wide 33-day Corporate Wellness Challenge using LIFT session fitness, available to all employees through Morneau Shepell’s LifeWorks wellbeing solution. For this challenge, participants would collect points by getting physically active on a regular basis.
In order to maximize participation, five teams were created and each with a National Bank executive as team captain. Employee participants were added to teams at random to create new connection opportunities.
RESULTS
National Bank achieved their three main goals and delivered an experience that had a positive impact on employee wellness. Over 1,400 employees participated in the challenge and the results were extraordinary.
- 43% decrease in inactive employees between April 22 and May 24
- 40% increase in average minutes of weekly activity
“I had not been active in a while, but this challenge helped me get started. Since the beginning of the challenge I’ve been working out 4 times a week!”
- 2612 fitness sessions completed
- 1814 hours of physical activity
“I never imagined how excited people would be about this fitness challenge. A lot of people participated. I even got to interact with new people in the organization who I had never met.”
- 93% want to participate in another fitness challenge
- 8.4 overall satisfaction with the fitness challenge
“The LIFT workouts were a great way to start the day. I could wake up, workout and be ready for work in the time it would normally take me to get to the gym. So efficient!”
Conclusion
National Bank was able to help their employees get physically active in a dynamic and engaging fashion for a period of 33 days. The LIFT session app will have a lasting impact on employees’ physical activity, because they know that they can access customized fitness journeys at any time, via the LifeWorks wellbeing platform. More importantly, employees better understand the value of regular physical activity and its positive influence on stress levels and mental health. Now that they know about the tools available through LifeWorks and LIFT session, employees are very excited to do similar challenges in the future.