Trend Alert: Walking Meetings

So you can walk the walk but can you walk and talk? Walking meetings are the new stand-up desks. You can do them inside your long hallways or better yet outside in the fresh air. They’re hip, they’re cool and they are so good for employee health. But if you’re not hip and cool and following the trends then let me give you some other reasons you should start walking and talking.

More bang for your buck

By getting employees up and moving, wiggling their toes and raising their heart rate you are helping them improve their health and your business. Active and healthy employees are shown to take considerably less time off work for illness leading to a higher productivity rate.

Bigger and better ideas

Did you want more of your employees thinking outside of the box instead of sitting inside one? Then you’ll definitely want to start walking meetings as walking has proven to produce more creative thoughts and problem-solving. No need to pull your hair out when you can’t solve a problem, just go for a walk.

No more repeating yourself

You’re breathing in the fresh air, you’re feeling more relaxed and more engaged. There are no distracting phones or computers in front of you. You’re listening in the meeting, taking in every word. This is because your heart rate is up, increasing your blood flow and allowing more oxygen into your wonderful brain. Exercise is truly amazing.

Paid exercise

It’s hard finding thirty minutes a day to commit to raising that heart rate but with walking meetings, you can easily knock out at least ten minutes of this. And you’re paid for it! It’s the exercise adults have been needing to get a kickstart on their health.

Who knew your business could get such a big boost from just getting out of your seat? Well… we did.

 

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An Interview with Tour de Office Volunteers

Tour de Office relies on around 40 wonderful volunteers every year to help our charity event to run smoothly. We were lucky enough to interview two of our amazing volunteers to discuss why they volunteer and their experience volunteering with Tour de Office.

One of our volunteers, Krishna, has volunteered for Tour de Office for the past few years and has been an amazing help every time. Last year he assisted the Commonwealth Bank in Sydney with their Tour de Office event week. Our other volunteer, Ibra, who had only volunteered for his first time last year had managed to create a lasting impression with our team with his positive attitude and enthusiasm. Ibra helped Tour de Office out in Melbourne last year working with Origin.

Why do you volunteer?

Krishna: It is my passion. I volunteer so that I can do something for the community and in turn keep myself busy. I’m retired so volunteering enables me to get out, stay active and meet new people.

Ibra: To get out and socialise and make connections.

What made you want to volunteer for Tour de Office?

Krishna: It was a great opportunity and Tour de Office had a great objective. It is really good to see companies look out for the health of their staff. Also, it was enjoyable to see office morale increase. You could see the office getting more active and as their activity and enthusiasm increased, so did their productivity.

Ibra: I volunteered for Tour de Office as I had some free time and wanted to use it in a good and productive way. Tour de Office was a really good cause and I worked alongside Beacon Foundation as well which works towards a really great cause too.

Do you volunteer for other charities?

Krishna: I do. I have volunteered for many charities. I’ve volunteered with the Starlight Foundation, for tennis tournaments and just last year I was a volunteer for the Invictus Games.

Ibra: Not yet as I don’t have the time but I would like to.

What is your favourite part of volunteering?

Krishna: I enjoy the customer service side. Meeting people and interacting with them. But at the end of the day, it’s nice knowing I have helped somebody with my time.

Ibra: Definitely the social aspect. It’s great talking to people and you never get bored.

Do you plan to volunteer again with Tour de Office?

Krishna: Yes! Very happily, I like the Tour de Office event.

Ibra: If I can find the time, most definitely!

 

 

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Volunteering in Every Form

Do you want to volunteer? Do you maybe not have a lot of time though? Are you unsure that you have the skill set to volunteer? We are here to let you know we can help you! There are numerous ways to volunteer that don’t require too much time or an extensive skill set or ones that require a lot of time and extensive skill set if that’s your thing. Below is a brief outline of the various forms of volunteering on offer.

1. Regular/Ongoing Volunteering

This volunteering tends to be a committed time weekly or monthly at places like Lifeline, Meals on Wheels and school tuck-shops. This is a great option for anyone who is able to commit to the same time weekly and wishes to participate in an easy task and possibly make friends along the way.

2. Project or Event-Based Volunteering

This form of volunteering is great for anyone who can only make a short commitment yearly to a charity. At Tour de Office we have volunteers who help just for our two events in the year. This is a great opportunity to engage in interesting and varying activities that are not regularly available for volunteers.

3. Corporate Volunteering

Corporate volunteering is a great way to involve large companies in volunteering, especially for the individual employees who may not have the time otherwise. Organisations like Solar Buddy engage businesses in assembling solar lights as a team to send onto places suffering from energy poverty.

4. Overseas Volunteering

This is a very time-consuming form of volunteering but provides numerous opportunities in the form of a rewarding holiday overseas. Organisations like Habitat for Humanity and Go Overseas offer various programs that require various skill levels so all can participate.

Now knowing some of the types of volunteering it’s time to choose. We have two tips for choosing to help make this process even easier:

  1. Choose a form of volunteering that suits your schedule. This will help you maximise the opportunity but also create a smooth process between you and the charity – you don’t want your good intentions doing more harm than good if you cannot commit.
  1. Choose what you love! Make sure you are passionate about what you are doing, this not only makes the experience better and easier for you but for the people around you. Your passion could also help to raise awareness for your charity and reel in new volunteers.

Now get volunteering!

 

If you want to learn more about volunteering with TourdeOffice you can check out these links:

Volunteer 2019 Recruitment: Watch this space and social media to find out more

Volunteer Board Position 

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