GPs, physios and pharmacists representing 20 practices across Greater Christchurch have taken on a unique workplace wellbeing challenge. The challenge highlights the value of practicing what they preach by looking after their health and wellbeing.
 

According to Sport Canterbury Chief Executive Julyan Falloon, the response to the second annual eight-week “Spring Into Summer Challenge” has exceeded all expectations.

“We know that health professionals are busy people facing significant demands in their daily life,” Falloon says. “They encourage their patients to see a link between physical activity and overall wellness.

“By taking part in this workplace wellness challenge, they can ‘walk the talk’ and show their patients they take this connection seriously.”

Lydia is the dietician at Village Health, where staff have embraced the change to start summer with a challenge.

“Our practice really enjoys doing it, as it creates conversation we may not otherwise have had. As the chart is near the nurses' station and our ‘hub,' everyone is often engaging in conversation about what they are doing, or sharing advice on vege-packed recipes or physical activity ideas.”

Like last year, some of the challenges reflected the importance of physical activity and nutrition but this year we also highlighted the importance of things like mindfulness, nature breaks, water intake and sleep. There is evidence that our fast-paced modern lifestyle may have a detrimental impact on our sleep both in terms of quality and quantity. The National Sleep Foundation recommend 7-9 hours of sleep a night for adults up to the age of 65 and 7-8 hours for those 65+.

Falloon has praise for all of the practices who have recognised the short and long term benefits of getting more active as a team. "It has been fantastic to see 20 different GPs, pharmacists and physios across Greater Christchurch get on board and make a tremendous effort with each week's challenge."

How the Challenge Works

For the eight week period commencing 15 October, each Monday Sport Canterbury's Physical Activity team announced a different "challenge." Challenges related to physical activity, nutrition, mental wellbeing and alcohol consumption.

Health professionals have embraced the spirit of the challenge, finding creative ways to engage their staff.

The team at Riccarton Physio challenged themselves to utilise mindfulness more during Week Five, ‘Wellbeing Week’.

According to Katherine, "We did a mindful in-service at the beginning of the week and encouraged everyone to download ‘smlingminds,' a free app which one of our physios had been using.”

Each week, the participating workplace earned points based on the challenge they undertook. The points were then averaged, depending upon the number of participants from each practice, to ensure that all practices (of all sizes) have an equal playing field. A running leaderboard was updated each week with the previous week's scores. Every fortnight, bonus challenges encouraged additional involvement, and a small prize will be awarded to the leading organisation. 

"Thank you to everyone who has taken part and made the 'Spring Into Summer Challenge 2018' so successful in its second year. We are excited to see this Challenge continue as an annual tradition."