UoN staff are ready, steady for world's biggest health challenge

441 staff from across UoN campuses are primed to hit the pavement for health from May 24.

They will join a 180,000-strong legion of workers worldwide and walk, cycle, swim, skip or even salsa their way through the world's largest corporate health initiative: the Global Corporate Challenge® (GCC).

Diane Bunch, Safety and Wellbeing Advisor, from Health and Safety said that they are excited to participate in the program that has proven to enrich employee health and wellbeing.

“Many of our employees, like so many Australians, spend an unhealthy amount of time seated - at their desks and in their cars travelling to and from work. We want to empower our employees to shake up their sedentary lifestyles and incorporate some beneficial physical activity into their daily lives. GCC provides a great way to achieve this.”

Over 16 weeks, UoN staff will team-up and work together to boost their daily physical activity levels, both in the workplace and at home. By adopting more health-conscious lifestyle habits, staff will strive to meet the equivalent of the World Health Organization's (WHO) active lifestyle recommendation of 10,000 steps per day. As well as making improvements to their overall physical health and emotional wellbeing, employees' daily steps will also take them around the world on a virtual travel adventure designed to keep spirits and commitment high.

Increasingly, desk-based roles, plus modern conveniences, mean today's typical employee takes just 3,000 steps per day - a far cry from the WHO recommendation. With inactivity linked to a host of chronic and increasingly common health conditions that include obesity, type II diabetes, heart disease, stroke, some cancers and depression, this shortfall presents a serious personal health threat to employees.

“Investing in the long-term wellbeing of our employees is an important step towards a happy and healthy workforce. We want our employees to feel good and to perform at their best, both in the workplace and out,” said Diane.

Commitment to our community

Not only is the GCC and UoN helping to improve the health of our employees, they're also helping the community. For every adult employee participating in the GCC, UoN will sponsor a local student to participate in the free-of-charge Global Children's Challenge™. This is a classroom-based health program which encourages physical activity and the formation of healthy and life-long daily exercise habits.

“Community involvement is an important component of the University's Corporate Social Responsibility commitment, so we are delighted to support these children in getting active and healthy for life,” said Diane.

UoN is looking forward to stepping up to the plate on May 24, and showing other local - and global - organisations what UoN can do. More information about the program can be found at www.gettheworldmoving.com