It is an undisputed fact that the pandemic has changed how we work in many unprecedented ways. It has been a crisis that led to the evolution of many innovations and disruptions in the corporate sphere.
One of the striking impacts of the pandemic has been how employees and employers interact with each other. Although not in the initial stages, the pandemic was pivotal to the evolution of more positive organisational cultures.
Employers are now more serious about building cultures to inspire, motivate, and engage employees. Executives are more empathetic than ever, and there is an overall shift towards being transformational leaders than managers. As a part of the shift, employers are now investing in employee wellbeing initiatives to build cultures that employees would love to be a part of.
According to Gartner's 2021 wellbeing benchmarking survey, over three-quarters of the US organisations surveyed confirmed that the importance of employee wellness programs increased in 2020. Corporate wellness programs have emerged as the pillars of organisational cultures that are committed to employee wellbeing.
Corporate wellness programs are now imbibed into the regular employee engagement initiatives, too, such as team-building events. There are a plethora of advantages to doing so. While team building activities improve collaboration between team members, wellness programs motivate employees to connect and align with the larger vision of the organisation. They start developing a sense of camaraderie and deliver beyond their call of duty.
While there is a multitude of options to choose from for your next wellness event, rock climbing can be an excellent choice. One of the primary reasons is that it is an activity that gives an adrenaline rush, improves fitness, and is a lot of fun to do. It is also truly an out of the box activity that not many would have experienced before. It builds inner strength, stability, and endurance. It is not an only activity with great physical benefits but also is great for employee mental health. It is a sociable activity that is fun, adventurous, and builds a community easily. The team members learn to support each other through the journey and work together as a team to get to the top.
Climbing is also great to be organised as a regular workout activity that can be offered as an employee perk. Perks are now more common than ever, as employees have started choosing organisations that offer great flexibility and perks.
Climbing can also be integrated with other activities like Yoga, Meditation, or other outdoor sports to make it more fun and exciting. One of the other best things about this activity is that it can be organised either outdoors or indoors. It can be notched up either by offering climbing training sessions to employees or by including it as a part of a camping retreat for your teams. Rock climbing also improves memory, and problem-solving skills as the climbers need to figure out the best route to climb. Although not substantial, some of the other benefits are trust and communication. When climbers work together in groups, they need to communicate and trust each other as climbing is a sport where safety is of paramount importance.
Any wellness activity has a positive impact on the organisation's culture. Being creative and less stereotypical is the need of the hour for wellness activities. Employers have started embracing these activities more than ever, and they no longer consider these activities as a mere expense. It is now being considered an investment into the organisational culture and employee satisfaction. Organising these activities every week or every month will be more impactful than once a month.