Global Employee Health and Fitness Month

The goal of GEHFM is to promote a healthy lifestyle to employers and their employees through workforce health promotion activities and environments. 

Author: Shari Dalal

Global Employee Health and Fitness Month is an international and national observance of health and fitness in the workplace created by the National Association of Health and Fitness. GEHFM encourages employers to challenge employees for healthy lifestyles through the creation of healthy moments, forming healthy groups, and developing culminating projects. 

Healthy moments focus on the individual trying a new recipe, physical activity, or cooking instead of eating out. Healthy groups have health goals in mind, such as participating in physical activities such as walking and biking to work. Culminating projects are events that promote health through the company or community or a participant’s personal health project. 

GEHFM offers membership, virtual, and in-person seminars discussing wellness topics through lunch and learns, workshops, and keynote speaking. Memberships are $20 for a month and allow employees and employers to track health achievements in healthy moments, healthy groups, and culminating projects accumulating points towards company awards and prizes. IGNITE and the National Association of Health and Fitness offer step-by-step tool-kits for guidance and ideas and provide tangible examples to ensure success for each participant. Membership also includes newsletters twice a week for workplace health and fitness. 

Employers investing in employee health reduces medical costs, increases employee morale, and increases productivity, as shown in 56 studies. These studies found a 27% reduction in sick leave absenteeism, 26% reduction in healthcare costs, 32% reduction in worker’s compensation and disability cost claims, and $5.81 to $1.00 ROI. Exercise provides many benefits, and ‘green exercise’ is a great way to achieve it. In green exercise, exercise is performed in nature, which contributes to stress reduction, enabling mental and physical rewards from exposure to natural environments. Thus it is a great business strategy to promote workplace health promotion, creating a pleasant and productive work environment.

Use #GEHFM to share activities and experiences and to engage with other participants. 

Reference:

https://www.gehfm.org/