City of Armadale staff step up

During the month of May City of Armadale staff were challenged to get active and participate in the Step into May Challenge.

The challenge was simple – see how many steps they could take during the month of May, with the directorate with the greatest number of steps winning, and more importantly receiving bragging rights.

Armadale CEO Ray Tame said the Step into May Challenge was set to try and get staff to get active during the working day.

“More than 70% of the Australian working population does not get enough physical activity which may be due to the sedentary nature of the work and prolonged periods of sitting behind a desk.

“Staff were provided with pedometers or used their tracking devices to monitor their daily steps.

“The challenge ran over 28 days and saw over 130 employees taking nearly 22.5 million steps.

“The Step into May Challenge encouraged staff to break up their sitting times and walk during lunch breaks to get active,” he said.

Unhealthy living and low levels of physical activity, including sitting for long periods of time, are likely to be attributable to the increase in chronic diseases such as cancer, cardiovascular disease and Type 2 diabetes.

Research has found that workplace programs focused on increasing staff physical activity and improving diet have resulted in increased attendance and higher productivity levels within the workplace. The study has identified the healthiest employees are almost three times more effective in the workplace (Benefits to Business: The evidence for investing in worker health and wellbeing 2011).

The Step into May Challenge was a health and wellbeing initiative by the City of Armadale.