What do coffee, the Brooklyn Bridge, and coworkers have in common?  Well, for our Viventium team, all three were present last Sunday as part of the NYC Charity Walks across the Brooklyn Bridge.  A group of Viventium employees gathered in Brooklyn to take on the Bridge, two miles total, and bond along the way while workin’ on their fitness.

"Walking across the Brooklyn Bridge for the first time was a great experience to share with my coworkers, and I ended up being much more active than I normally would be on a Sunday morning!" said Rachel Yancius, our Vertical Marketing Specialist.

Our group was surprisingly (or maybe not!) hit with some inspiration along those miles.  We’re here to share three inspirational thoughts from Sunday’s adventure:

Fitbit Challenges

Like almost every other aspect of our lives, today it’s easier than ever to make fitness a social phenomenon.  Even beyond group exercise formats like spin class, Zumba, and Crossfit, individuals coming together through social forums and wearable fitness trackers.  As of July 2017, 23.2 million people actively wear and use Fitbit devices.     

A trend that’s proven popular among the Fitbit-wearers of our company - the “Workweek Hustle” on the Fitbit app challenges participants to see who can get the most steps from Monday to Friday.  It’s a fun way to encourage a little healthy competition among co-workers and get employees up and moving.

Free Local Landmarks

There’s a phenomenon that happens when you live in a place for a while.  You tend to stop appreciating some of the exciting, “touristy” things about it until you see them through someone else’s eyes - like if you live in New York and have to take a visiting friend on a tour of the Statue of Liberty.  But what we realized as we walked from Brooklyn to Manhattan and back across the bridge is that it’s always a good time to explore free landmarks around you!  Near two of our offices, the Brooklyn Bridge was an obvious choice - and now we’re expanding our view and looking to explore the Watchung Reservation just around the corner from our Berkeley Heights office.  

From NYC to the west coast and everything in between, there’s always something nearby you can explore.  And for employers, you could even take the opportunity for some easy - and free - team bonding and initiate a scavenger hunt for your employees around and throughout local landmarks (a great way to get those Fitbit steps in!).  

Recharge and Refresh Your Brain       

It may have been only a relatively short walk, but doing new things can reprogram and refresh our brains.  In fact, our brains are hardwired to appreciate novelty.  Experiencing new things helps us learn better, sharpens our memory, and improves our mental health.  And in the working world, doing something out of your element can increase creativity and inspire personal and professional growth.  Having trouble solving a problem?  Get out there and try something new!   

And when you and your coworkers experience things together, talk around the water cooler can now include “remember that time…?”  A LinkedIn Relationships at Work study revealed that 46% of professionals across the world cited work friends as being important to their overall happiness.  And Gallup has found that close work relationships boost employee satisfaction by 50%.  It’s a no-brainer, really.   

As Bakoly Ralambo, our SQL Report Writer, simply put it, “Great weather, great company, and a great workout.”  So if you’re out and about in the tri-state area, you might just see our sea of purple bonding through fitness.