30 workplace wellness challenges, plus a 4‑week plan you can copy
Step, hydration, sleep, mindfulness and digital detox challenges for work. Build a 4-week plan below, then use the rules and scoring as they are.
A good workplace wellness challenge is small, social and short. Small, so a busy person can do it in five minutes. Social, so teams cheer each other on. Short, so it ends while people still want more. Start with the planner, then pick extra ideas from the 30 below.
Build a 4-week wellness challenge
Each focus becomes one week with a small challenge for every workday. Shuffle until you like it, then copy it into Slack, Teams or an email.
Week 1: Move more
- MonHit your personal step goal
- TueWalk to a coworker instead of messaging
- WedInvite a coworker on a walk
- ThuTake a 15-minute walk before work
- FriStand up and stretch every hour
Week 2: Drink up
- MonRefill your bottle three times
- TueFinish your bottle before lunch
- WedAdd fruit or herbs to your water
- ThuHave a water-only afternoon
- FriSwap one sugary drink for water
Week 3: Rest well
- MonNo caffeine after 2 p.m.
- TueGo to bed 15 minutes earlier
- WedSkip the late-night email check
- ThuTry a 5-minute wind-down stretch
- FriGet 10 minutes of daylight before noon
Week 4: Find calm
- MonEnd the day by writing one win
- TueTry a short body scan
- WedDo one thing slowly and on purpose
- ThuSpend 10 minutes outside
- FriFive minutes of guided breathing
Step challenges and movement
The classic wellness challenge, and the easiest to start. Count minutes as well as steps so everyone can take part.
1. Team step challenge
Teams of five to eight log daily steps from any phone or tracker. Rank teams by average per person so team size doesn't matter. How to run it.
2 to 4 weeks · Office or remote
2. Walking meetings
Every 1:1 that doesn't need a screen becomes a walk. Remote pairs walk with earbuds, cameras off.
1 week · Office or remote
3. Stairs only week
Skip the elevator for a week and count flights. Post a running total by the stairwell door.
1 week · Office
4. Virtual race across a map
Turn the team's combined steps into a journey between your office cities, and post progress on a map every Friday.
4 weeks · Remote
5. The 2 p.m. stretch
A calendar invite at 2 p.m. for five minutes of stretching. Someone different leads it each day.
2 weeks · Office or remote
6. Lunchtime walk club
A standing 20-minute walk after lunch, same time, same door. Show up when you can.
Ongoing · Office
7. Live fitness class together
Kick off or close the challenge with a live yoga, barre or dance class on Zoom, led by a real instructor. Book it: Yoga, Barre it All or Beatz.
60 min · Remote
Two live classes on Zoom, led by real instructors, with live prices.
Hydration, food and sleep challenges
Small daily habits with a visible checkmark. Keep goals personal, never about weight or body size.
8. Water bottle refill challenge
Everyone sets a personal number of refills per day and checks off the days they hit it.
2 weeks · Office or remote
9. One more vegetable
Add one serving of fruit or vegetables a day. A streak counter keeps it fun.
2 weeks · Office or remote
10. Healthy recipe swap
Each person shares one easy, healthy recipe in a channel. Collect them into a team cookbook at the end.
1 week · Office or remote
11. Bring-your-lunch week
Pack lunch every day and eat it away from your desk. Post photos for bonus points.
1 week · Office
12. Caffeine cutoff
No caffeine after 2 p.m. for a week. Stock the office with herbal tea to help.
1 week · Office or remote
13. Healthy eating class
A live class on making good food choices that fit real schedules, as the start of a nutrition week. Book it: Healthy Eating.
60 min · Remote
14. Bedtime consistency week
Pick a bedtime and keep it within 30 minutes every night, weekends included.
1 week · Office or remote
15. Screens-off hour
No phone, laptop or TV in the last hour before bed. Swap in a book or a stretch.
2 weeks · Office or remote
16. Real lunch break
Thirty minutes away from the desk, every day, with meetings blocked on the shared calendar.
2 weeks · Office or remote
17. Sleep strategies session
A live expert session with practical techniques for better sleep, to open a sleep-focused week. Book it: Sleep Strategies.
60 min · Remote
Mindfulness and digital detox challenges
Stress challenges work best when leaders join in and meetings make room for them.
18. Five minutes of calm
Five minutes of guided breathing or meditation a day, at any time. Check it off and keep the streak. Book it: Meditation.
2 to 4 weeks · Office or remote
19. Gratitude journal
Write three good things every evening. Start with a hosted journaling workshop that ships each person a journal. Book it: Gratitude Journaling.
3 weeks · Office or remote
20. Three breaths before meetings
Hosts open every meeting with three slow breaths. It takes 20 seconds and changes the room.
1 week · Office or remote
21. Sound bath break
A live vibrational sound meditation on Zoom, a calm midpoint for a stress-focused month. Book it: Sound Meditation.
60 min · Remote
22. Ten minutes outside
Get outside for ten minutes every workday: a walk, a coffee on a bench, lunch in the park.
2 weeks · Office or remote
23. Desk zen garden
Everyone builds a mini zen garden from a kit shipped home, then keeps it on the desk as a reminder to pause. Book it: Zen Garden.
60 min · Remote
24. Notification-free mornings
Chat and email notifications off until 10 a.m. Deep work first, messages second.
1 week · Office or remote
25. Phone-free meals
Phones face down or in another room for every meal. Count the meals you manage.
1 week · Office or remote
26. Log-off time
Each person picks a log-off time and sets an away status. Managers go first and stop sending late messages.
2 weeks · Office or remote
27. Meeting-free afternoon
Block one afternoon a week with no meetings, company-wide. Protect it like a holiday.
4 weeks · Office or remote
Two hosted calm sessions for a stress or mindfulness week.
Kindness and connection challenges
Wellbeing is social too. These end a challenge on a high note.
28. Kindness bingo
A bingo card of small kind acts: thank someone, help a new hire, share a song. First full row wins.
2 weeks · Office or remote
29. Volunteer hours
Give everyone paid hours to volunteer, then share stories at the wrap-up.
1 month · Office or remote
30. A finale everyone joins
Close the challenge with an hour of laughing together: announce the winners, then play a hosted game or make something relaxing. Book it: Self-Care with Creative Games or Tea Garden & Tasting.
60 min · Office or remote
How to run a step challenge at work
Seven decisions make a step challenge fair and fun for everyone, not only the marathon runners.
- Pick the length. Two to four weeks: long enough to build a habit, short enough to keep the energy up.
- Make teams, not just a leaderboard. Teams of five to eight, mixing departments. Teams keep people going on the days they'd quit alone.
- Score by average, not total. Rank teams by average steps per member so a team of five can beat a team of eight.
- Count active minutes too. Let people log cycling, swimming, wheelchair pushes or yoga as minutes, so nobody is left out.
- Use whatever people already have. Any phone or fitness tracker works. Have people post a daily or weekly total on the honor system.
- Share results every Friday. A short post with team standings and one fun stat keeps the energy up.
- End with a celebration. Announce winners at a short event and give small prizes. Recognize most improved, not only the top.
Wellness challenge rules and scoring
Simple scoring people can track themselves, and five rules that keep it healthy.
Scoring
- 1 point for each daily challenge completed
- 2 bonus points for completing all five days in a week
- Team score = average points per member
- Honor system: people log their own checkmarks
- Weekly shout-out for the top team and most improved
- Small prizes at the finale, plus a team-wide reward if everyone takes part
Keep it fair
- Make it opt-in, with no penalty for sitting out
- Never track weight, body measurements or calories
- Offer an alternative for every physical challenge
- Keep personal data private; share team totals only
- Keep challenges inside the workday where you can
Want wellness all year, not just for a month? See our annual wellness program, with a hosted session every month. For prizes, browse employee incentive ideas. Want a live yoga, meditation or fitness class to kick it off? Get a free quote; hosted sessions book about 2 weeks ahead, and kit workshops 3 weeks.
