
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?
- 1Design a poster: "Take the Stairs – Challenge!"
- 2Hang the counting board in the stairwell
- 3Announce via email + set a goal (e.g. 10,000 floors as a team)
- 4Update the tally weekly
- 5Celebrate 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 nowRather take a look first? To the live demo →
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