Go The Extra Mile: How Physical Activity Sessions Support Your Remote Team

The world might be back to ‘normal’, but working from home is here to stay.

You might have hybrid working in place to provide flexibility for your team. Or you may have fully embraced remote working to attract the best talent from across the globe.

Regardless, you still have a responsibility to look after your people – even if you never see them face-to-face. A positive workplace culture and wellbeing initiatives now need to stretch much further across borders than before.

You probably won’t be surprised to learn that I believe physical activity sessions are one of the best ways you can support your remote team. From lightening the mental load to building connections, the benefits speak for themselves.

So, let’s get into them!

Keep your people healthy

In today’s digital world, most of us spend a lot of our lives sitting at our desks and

looking at screens.

A few years ago, your commute probably involved some form of walking, even if it was just to and from the train station. Now, the furthest your remote team may need to travel is to the kitchen to pop the kettle on!

We have become more sedentary, which has an impact on our posture and can eventually lead to cardiovascular health issues and conditions like carpal tunnel syndrome.

Building physical activity sessions into your team’s working day takes people awayfrom their chairs, even for a short time, and encourages a more active lifestyle.

Encourage breaks

For remote employees, the boundaries between work and home are increasingly blurry. You can easily fire up your laptop at any time of the day. The less distinction you have between your professional and personal life, the more likely it is your team could be prone to burnout.

Suggesting breaks may not be enough in these cases – so build them into the working day as non-negotiables.

You don’t need to force everyone to break a sweat in the middle of the workday. Exercise can be as rigorous or gentle as each individual chooses it to be.

A stretching break or a quick walk around the block at regular times throughout the day gets people away from their desks and makes a world of difference.

Develop Connections

With remote working, it’s very easy to lose the social side of the workplace that is so integral to building strong relationships.

Physical activity sessions don’t just have to be about getting the heart rate up – they can be fun too! Set challenges and targets for people to hit – such as a combined weekly or monthly step count – and get your employees to compete in teams.

Encouraging your people to interact in non-work activities helps to establish relationships and reduce isolation.

Solve Problems

Not only does a walking break help to improve our mood, but taking time in the fresh air increases focus, encourages creativity, and makes us much more productive when we are back at our desks again.

If a team member is struggling to unpick a particular issue, a walk could be just what they need to have that lightbulb moment.

At Club Synergy, we are big fans of Walk ‘n’ Talk sessions. First, your team will join a call to check in, perhaps watching a presentation on a specific topic. Then, the conversation continues on the phone in pairs, to allow the opportunity to dive deeper into any issues raised in the group discussion.

It’s a brilliant opportunity to connect scattered team members in a fun and productive way and helps to strengthen relationships between colleagues at the same time.

Increase energy

We’ve talked a bit about the perils of a sedentary lifestyle already, and here’s another biggie: it leaves remote workers feeling lethargic. If you spend your entireday working on your computer, at some point you are going to lose focus and concentration, which can lead to mistakes.

If you’re interested in online workouts for your remote team, the brain-boosting benefits of exercise will inject a whole heap of energy into the rest of each person’s day.

Our Active Learning Sessions allow team members to share any challenges or opportunities they would like feedback on before everyone gets stuck into an endorphin-packed workout. Then, the group comes back together for short and sweet focus sessions to share feedback and commit to action.

Hopefully, this blog has helped you see just how effective physical activity sessions can be in supporting your remote team.

Committing to hosting physical activity sessions for your employees regularly helps to improve their physical and mental health, their connection with one another, and their creativity, productivity, and efficiency in their roles. Wins all around!

If you would like to learn more about how Club Synergy can help keep your remote team FIT for business, head to this link or book a virtual Walk ‘n’ Talk with me to have a proper blether about the detail.