Team-based wellness challenges: the engagement and retention lever your competition is already using

You have invested in wellness programs. You have sent the emails, shared the resources, maybe brought in a speaker. But most of your team is not using them: only 20 to 30 per cent of employees regularly engage with available wellness programs.

Team-based wellness challenges change the equation. When wellness moves from a solo endeavour to a shared team experience, engagement soars and culture strengthens. The data is decisive: team-based challenges are the most appealing format to employees, with 36 per cent preferring them over any other wellness initiative, and 62 per cent of employees say social support is essential to their wellness journey.

Why teams work

Three psychological drivers: accountability, belonging and friendly competition. When a colleague is counting on you to log today's habit, you show up differently. Cross-functional challenges connect people who might never collaborate otherwise, marketing meets operations, leadership meets the front line, and visible progress on leaderboards creates energy that spreads.

Team challenges also normalise wellness conversations. 'Did you get your steps in?' becomes everyday talk rather than something personal and hidden, which matters enormously now that 75 per cent of wellness programs include mental health support, up from 52 per cent in 2023.

Making it work in your organisation

Make participation easy and inclusive across fitness levels and interests. Keep the technology simple: clunky platforms kill participation faster than anything else. Celebrate early and often, and let leaders visibly participate. Companies that integrate wellbeing into culture report up to 20 per cent higher productivity, and employers see a $1.47 return for every dollar spent.

The gap between wellness intention and wellness impact does not have to exist in your organisation. Coach Welly's platform makes team-based challenges effortless to launch and genuinely exciting to join.