Legal and General has boosted physical activity among its workforce through a stair-climbing scheme.
In October 2015, 142 employees across the organisation formed into 39 teams to take part in the World Towers stair climbing challenge, conducted in partnership with StepJockey. Over 31 days, staff climbed the equivalent height of eight of the world’s tallest buildings, making 8,000 stair journeys and taking a total of 728,748 steps.
This is the second stair-climbing challenge that Legal and General employees have participated in. In February 2014, staff climbed the equivalent height of Everest, burning over 107,947 calories. The challenge increased stair use at the organisation by 3,710%.
As part of the stair-climbing scheme, Legal and General installed smart signs at six of its sites to encourage staff to take the stairs rather than the lift. The scheme uses contactless technology and gamification principles that enable employees to set goals and track their progress.
In addition to the increase in stair-climbing, the challenges have helped to boost communication and networking among employees at the organisation.
Alyson Bowcott, the Legal and General executive in charge of the project, said: “People in the teams would often have lunch together, so it’s been a really good way of encouraging bonding.
“The more naturally athletic ones encourage the others to do more, so it’s a nice way to get people working together positively and having a bit of fun.”