Steps Week: One Week, Three Ways to Walk More
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Physical Activity€0 · freeunder 30 min

Steps Week: One Week, Three Ways to Walk More

A single movement initiative can easily evaporate in a packed workday – but three that work together in the same week become the talk of the office. Steps Week bundles three low-threshold classics into one shared action: walk more, no sports program required.

What are three ways to walk more in one week?

Steps Week deliberately combines three measures that reinforce each other: the stair challenge makes everyday movement visible, walking meetings put conversations that were happening anyway on their feet, and the lunch walk gives the lunch break a direction – outdoors. None of them require sportswear, sign-up, or budget – together they cover the entire workday: at the desk, in the meeting, during the break.

Why does the bundle move more than any single measure?

Individual movement nudges compete with a packed calendar and usually lose. Combined into one week, they reinforce each other: someone who took the stairs in the morning is more likely to think of the walk at lunch; someone who experienced the meeting on foot sits down less automatically in the afternoon. The shared frame – one week, one theme – lowers the threshold for each individual action, because no one starts alone.

How does the week turn into a habit?

The appeal lies in the clear start and end: a week is manageable enough that everyone joins in, and long enough that movement starts to feel normal. Steps Week works best when leaders visibly join in and there's a brief look back at the end: what stuck? Often it's exactly one of the three – the regular lunch walk, the Tuesday walking meeting – that becomes a permanent part of the week. The campaign was the occasion; the habit is the result. A good complement is the best practice Kilometre week: a week in which every journey counts.

Measures included (3)

  • 1

    Stair Challenge

    Print a poster, hang up a counting board, done. Visible throughout the building. Who climbs the most floors in a month? This WHP classic has extremely high visibility and also attracts colleagues who are otherwise less active — because getting started is so easy.

    under 30 min · Free

  • 2

    Walking Meetings

    Meetings held while walking instead of sitting. Costs nothing, works immediately, everyone can join. A Stanford study shows: most people come up with more ideas while walking than while sitting – around 60% more on average (Oppezzo & Schwartz 2014). Ideal for 1:1 conversations, feedback conversations, and creative brainstorming.

    under 30 min · Free

  • 3

    Lunch Walk

    Take a walk together once a week during lunch break — 30 minutes of fresh air, movement, and team building. No equipment needed, no cost. Just go.

    under 30 min · Free

How do you put the measure in place?

  1. 1
    Design a poster: "Take the Stairs – Challenge!"
  2. 2
    Hang the counting board in the stairwell
  3. 3
    Announce via email + set a goal (e.g. 10,000 floors as a team)
  4. 4
    Update the tally weekly
  5. 5
    Celebrate the result after 4 weeks

Plan, invite, measure participation: EasyWHP, which offers WHPCompass free of charge, sets this measure up as a project, invites the workforce and shows how many people take part. How a measure runs in EasyWHP →

What do you need for it?

Effort
under 30 min
Cost
Free
Setup
30 min
  • ✓ Free
  • ✓ High visibility in the building
  • ✓ Gamification effect
  • ✓ Low-threshold for everyone

Tax and health insurance: what is possible

Employer health benefits can be tax-free under § 3 no. 34 of the German Income Tax Act (EStG) up to €600 per employee per year — if they are provided in addition to the salary already owed and are either certified (§ 20 SGB V) or implemented within the company's health promotion process. Gym memberships and corporate fitness are not covered. For ZPP-certified courses (e.g. from Upfit), German statutory health insurers can reimburse all or part of the course fee to their insured members — then only the amount exceeding that reimbursement is tax-free. Projects within the company can be funded under § 20b SGB V, with no entitlement. Only your tax adviser can confirm the tax exemption.

Health insurance and tax: how to proceed →

Adopt it for your company

Register for free — and the measure is ready to go in your cockpit: invitation, feedback survey and appointment are already set up. First cycle, first numbers for the boss.

Start for free now

Rather take a look first? To the live demo →

Contributes to

Expand movement offeringsOrganize team eventsIncrease participation rate in WHP measures

Measure the impact with

GPAQ – Bewegungsverhalten (WHO)

A fitting occasion

Related best practices

Not sure where to start? Self-check in approx. 7 minutes →

WHPCompass covers German workplace health promotion: funding paths, figures and legal references (e.g. § 20b SGB V, § 3 No. 34 EStG, the statutory-health-insurer prevention guidelines) apply to Germany.