This year’s Walking Challenge was an opportunity to get moving, work towards a goal and connect with colleagues and friends.
During the Challenge, the ‘Share Your Journey’ competition encouraged participants to submit a short story and/or photos to showcase how their health and wellbeing was positively impacted by participating in the Challenge.
We would like to congratulate this year’s winners and share what motivated them to participate, their experience during the Challenge, and how participating improved their overall wellbeing.
1st place – Joanna Degen, Personal Assistant, Corporate Services, from the Multinational Team
Joanna shared how the Walking Challenge allowed her to better connect with her colleagues as a new starter and largely working from home.
The Challenge offered Joanna the opportunity to work towards a common goal, as well as get to know some of her colleagues better by going for lunchtime walks and talking about family, work, and personal interests.
The Challenge encouraged Joanna to check in with her colleagues, ask how their weekend was and remain connected via Teams, emails or text messages when working from home.
Joanna is grateful for her colleagues for reaching out and inviting her to be a part of their team. The Challenge didn’t just offer her the opportunity to get active but also encouraged her to get to know others in her new working environment.
“Overall, this experience has given me the boost I needed to be more open to making new friends in the workplace! It has encouraged me to step outside my comfort zone and be confident in my new role at Monash Health.”
Joanna won a Nutribullet donated by Medibank.
2nd place – Keren Moskal, Clinical Librarian, from team .Decimators
Keren expressed how the Walking Challenge was the motivation her team needed to move more.
Working in an office-based environment, Keren and her colleagues often go for a walk around the hospital during their lunch break.
The Challenge offered her team the added encouragement they needed to engage in different types of physical activity and to become more accountable to stay active and encourage one another to do so.
During the Challenge, Keren had two weeks of annual leave and travelled to Tasmania! This trip showed Keren the importance of making time for yourself, engaging in physical activity that you enjoy and focusing on your wellbeing.
During her trip, Keren walked, hiked and camped through Tasmania, and participating in the Challenge encouraged her to want to walk, see and experience more. Keren also shared how experiencing a new environment and walking within nature allowed her mind to rest.
Throughout the Challenge, Keren stayed connected to her team and attributes encouragement and engagement from others as a key motivator to staying active.
“Connection to the team was important, inspiring each other throughout the Challenge. Activity with others is the key for me to staying active and l cannot wait until the next challenge!”
Keren won a slow cooker donated by Aware Super.
Thank you to all the participants who submitted entries into the competition and shared their experiences participating in the Challenge. Your collective enthusiasm and commitment were showcased in the goals you achieved, challenges you had overcome, and the support you gave to your colleagues.
We would like to share some additional feedback and comments received from participants!
“I really enjoyed this challenge. I feel great and was able to support my colleagues to get out and walk too. I have learnt a lot and now I am making time to walk for 1 hour or more every day.”
“Great way to make friends with your team members and boost team morale. Walking is an activity that is so easy, yet so hard to prioritise. I personally am bad at getting my steps up, so this is the most active I have been.”
“Reminds me the importance of a work/life balance and importance of daily physical exercise. It is also a rewarding challenge.”
“It was a great motivation to park further away and walk after work which always cleared my head and made me feel like I had a lot more energy. I feel that it is really the kickstart you need to remind you it feels better getting some fresh air.”
We look forward to hosting further Challenges! For resources, programs, and support services to support your ongoing health and wellbeing visit the Health and Wellbeing webpages.
This initiative is supported by the Victorian Government’s Department of Health Be Well Be Safe Program, providing increased health and wellbeing support for healthcare workers during COVID-19. For further details and to stay informed about the latest initiatives, visit the Be Well Be Safe Program webpage.
Approved by Michael Holman.