TECH, BUSINESS AND CAREER INSIGHTS

Go for the Gold: Increase Employee Engagement Through Workplace Wellness

Chris Skaggs @chrislskaggs

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You don’t have to look hard to find a survey with a staggering statistic showing employee engagement at all-time lows. Developing and nurturing friendships at work is one way to help improve engagement. You don’t need to be “besties,” but a friendship and mutual respect that allows you to laugh together, enjoy a beer, or just chit-chat with a co-worker is proven to make the work day more enjoyable. According to a study by Gallup, work friendships can boost employee satisfaction by as much as 50%. A great way to create these friendships and camaraderie is to get together outside of the standard office setting and work toward a common purpose. 

Because of this, at TSP we are constantly pursuing different ways to get involved in our community. Giving back to the various causes our employees are passionate about is one way we rally together and bond outside of the office.

Each year, DFW-area businesses participate in the City of Richardson’s Corporate Challenge. The Olympic-style competition is a professionally run, volunteer-driven event coordinated by the City of Richardson’s Parks & Recreation Department. The Richardson Corporate Challenge is modeled after the hugely successful games in Las Vegas. The Corporate Challenge promotes, enables and supports values such as teamwork, company pride and workplace wellness — all through healthy competition.

Starting in August and extending into October, for the first-time ever, we will be participating in the Corporate Challenge to raise money for the Special Olympics and engage in some friendly competition with local DFW businesses.

The 10-week competition will consist of 23 athletic and non-athletic events, and TSP will be competing in Division C along with nine other DFW-area companies. In honor of raising money for the Special Olympics, we will also be assigned a Special Olympian who will be invited to attend any and all of our events.

We are excited to be participating in this friendly competition and giving back to the community where we are headquartered. The Opening Ceremony on August 12th will kick off the competition, and should be a great time for all to support our team and this amazing cause. Food, drinks and fun will all be provided — employees just need to bring the spirit!

Both the Great Walk and Executive Relay will be held that evening in order to earn points towards our Spirit Stick. We will have a chance to win the Tailgate Award as well! If that isn’t enough, there will also be In-N-Out Burger on site. Employees, friends and family are all invited to celebrate the start of this friendly competition with us.

The Corporate Challenge is just one fun and competitive example of workplace wellness, which is defined as: any workplace health promotion activity or organizational policy designed to support healthy behavior in the workplace and to improve health outcomes.

BUT WHY DOES WORKPLACE WELLNESS EVEN MATTER?
The mere existence of workplace wellness proves to positively increase not only employee engagement, but individual behavior. A recent survey by the Young Entrepreneur Council found that 60 percent of workers with access to a workplace wellness program feel inspired by their company culture to make healthy choices. The survey also found that without a workplace program, workers are four times less likely to be inspired by their company culture to make healthy choices, and only 44 percent are engaged.

These are a few of the many reasons we work hard to come up with new ways to engage our #TSProckstars and join them together. For our DFW employees, we can’t take home the gold without you. Sign-ups for our teams are open, and we are in need of athletes for the challenge, with events ranging from softball and volleyball to billiards and horseshoes. Not athletic? No worries! We are also in need of Captains and Spirit Committee members.

For all our employees outside of DFW, while we know you can’t physically participate in the games, Team TSP will also be judged on fundraising efforts. Follow this link to our fundraising page and help us bring home the gold! There is a place for anyone and everyone in the Corporate Challenge, both near to DFW and outside the metroplex.

And don’t forget, you can follow along online! Please help us spread the word for this great cause and share on social media using #TSProckstars and #RichardsonCorporateChallenge. You can also tag our friends at Special Olympics using @SOtexas.

Have questions or want to find out more about how you can participate in the Corporate Challenge this year? Contact the TSP Fun Committee and follow the fun on Twitter and Instagram. You can also stay up to date on the competition by following the Richardson Corporate Challenge’s Facebook page and Instagram.

Big picture — every organization needs to work towards camaraderie, and it’s a constant goal shared by the people that make up the organization. In our increasingly global and virtual workforce, fostering friendships (especially those that may not be face-to-face) takes proactive work. We believe that the effort pays off in dividends, and are always looking for ways to rally our employees together around a great cause.

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