A great way to reward an employee’s efforts to improve their health and fitness is through the use of wellness activity prizes, wellness swag, and many other wellness gift ideas.
Creative health and wellness ideas are crucial for an employee’s wellbeing, especially in a workplace that requires you to sit in front of a computer all day.
The “key” is to find corporate wellness gifts and fitness challenge prizes that encourage the employees to continue their health and wellness quest inside and outside of the office.
These wellness products and giveaway ideas for your employees should encourage them to walk a little bit extra during the day, stand rather than sit, and keep their muscles and brains working at a high level.
One study measured the effects of regular, low intensity exercise, like inclined walking, on feelings of energy and fatigue in sedentary young adults with persistent fatigue. They found that chronic exercise will dramatically reduce sleepiness and rev up energy.
If you care about the health, energy and productivity of your employees, a little exercise throughout the day can go a long way.
Wellness incentives and gift ideas can be given out to employees who walk a certain amount of steps per day, take the stairs instead of the elevator, use gyms on a weekly basis, lose a certain amount of weight, participate in group exercise events, and make healthy eating choices.
Grab these 10 Wellness Gift Ideas for Employees (Wellness Swag) and keep your office happy, healthy, and productive:
1. Gym Memberships
One of the best incentives or corporate wellness gift ideas a company can give to its employees is a gym membership. Not only should you give them a gym membership, but you should incentivize them for using it. Maybe they only have to work 38 hours per week to fulfill their 40 hours if they use their gym membership at least twice a week. They wouldn’t necessarily have to join a gym. They could join a bootcamp, yoga class or cycling studio. Maybe a little extra incentive could be given if the person elects to get a personal trainer.
2. Smart Watch
A good-looking piece of wellness swag all of your employees will love is a smart watch with built in step-counter. Promote wellness incentives by challenging your employees to reaching a certain number of steps in a day. Encourage them to park far away from the office and make an extra long walk before getting into work. Ask them to use the stairs instead of the elevator. Promote a weekly step goal and provide a weekly fitness challenge prize for the person with the most steps.
One smart watch you should be getting your employees is the SoundPEATS smart watch. This inexpensive smart watch records all day activities such as steps, distance, calories burned, active minutes, heart rate, and sleep analysis. It’s waterproof, binds to your cell phone, and is backed by rave reviews.
3. Spa/Massage Gift Certificate
A great wellness giveaway idea is to give out a spa or massage gift certificate. The employee can use this wellness activity prize to destress and relax at the end of a hard week. Not only that, the employee will experience increased blood flow and flexibility during a calming massage or spa session. People who workout will especially love this gift as it will aid in muscle maintenance and recovery, improve their sleep, and lengthen their muscles to their natural resting positions.
4. Ear Buds
An excellent gift to throw into your employee’s wellness bag is a quality set of earbuds. Exercisers love a quality pair of ear buds for working out. A 2010 study revealed how the effects of music tempo influenced cycling performance. They found the 12 male student cyclists worked harder when listening to faster paced music as compared to music at a slower tempo. There was also more enjoyment when the music was playing at a faster tempo. This wellness gift idea is perfect for any employee, as they can use them during work or at their local wellness center. Employees will see this more as wellness swag rather than just another fitness prize.
A great fitness challenge prize is the Jabird Vista True Wireless Bluetooth Sport Waterproof Earbud Premium Headphones. This comfortable pair of ear buds has an excellent sound/bass quality, are lag free, sweatproof, and some of the best ear buds on the market.
5. Paid Event Pass
A fun and exciting way to incentivize employees to exercise is through the purchase of admission to certain events such as the Tough Mudder, Spartan Race, or even something as simple as a 5k. Quarterly events can boost employee morale, encourage teamwork, and give them something to look forward to. Employees will have to train in their free time to make sure they are able to adequately complete the course. This could given on a quarterly basis, or as a wellness giveaway idea during your Christmas party.
6. Exercise Bands
Something all employees could be using during their workday to increase strength, blood flow, and mobility is through the use of exercise bands. A perfect wellness product for employees, exercise bands take up a small amount of room, are light weight, portable, and can be stored in any office desk. Employees can use these inexpensive wellness gifts throughout the day and get short 5-10-minute workouts in the comfort of their office or cubicle.
A great set of exercise bands that will easily fit in your work area is this VEICK Resistance Bands Set. This particular set of wellness swag comes in multiple colors, various resistances, and is portable, lightweight, and comes with its own cloth pouch.
7. Wellness Gift Card
Something small, lightweight, and portable is a wellness gift card. This could be as simple as a gift card to Dick’s Sporting Goods, Academy Sports + Outdoors or even Bass Pro Shops. This particular wellness incentive idea could be given out on a monthly basis for the completion of a particular fitness challenge. It can be a simple and inexpensive way to incentivize physical activity. Many companies like to use gift cards to reward good attendance. Why not use it as a way to incentivize healthy living?
8. Standing Desk
I cannot state this more; your company needs to purchase standing desks for its employees. Sitting all day is terrible for their health, mood, productivity, and posture. Your employees should be standing most of the workday. A person is going to be far more productive if they are engaged in what they are working on. You won’t be engaged if you’re slouching back in a chair all day. Most standing desks are easily adjustable and make it easy to lift the desk up and down.
You need to get the VariDesk. You will be able to easily lift it up and down. There is lots of space for monitors and a keyboard and will easily fit on top of your desk. It’s made with quality materials and will last a long time. This is the brand I personally use.
9. Lessons with a Nutritionist
A great way to incentivize employees to be healthy is to have a nutritionist come through the office on a monthly basis and work with the employees individually on their dietary and nutritional needs. Employees will begin to wake up to the fact that they should be putting their health and wellness above many of the other things in their lives. A nutritionist can show the employee what they should be eating for all meals of the day, including snacks and lunch at work. Many employees either ignore or do not understand the things they are putting into their bodies. Someone coming by to point that out every so often would be a great asset to any company.
10. Stability Ball
Last but not least, a stability ball is a great piece of wellness swag you can give to your employees. A stability ball is going to improve your posture and help you to sit upright during the workday. Ditch the desk chair and use something that forces you to contract your muscles a certain amount while you type away on that keyboard. Sitting hunched over on a chair is one of the worst things you can do to your body. Sit upright and strong with a quality stability ball.
The perfect ball to help stabilize your core and improve your posture is the CanDo – Mobile Ball Chair. Use this chair to help your employees reduce back pain, burn calories and improve efficiency and productivity.
Summary: 10 Wellness Gift Ideas for Employees (Wellness Swag)
The best wellness activity prizes are going to give your employees energy, improve their blood flow to their brain and body, improving their mood and boosting their overall happiness. Promoting your health and wellness ideas in the workplace will bring your employees together for a common cause. When people have something to look forward to the next day, the better they will perform, and the better their work becomes. Use wellness swag and wellness activity prizes to promote better health and exercise inside and outside the workplace.
