What if boosting employee engagement was as simple as putting one foot in front of the other? That’s exactly what Motion Connected’s annual Move More Challenge has proven. In 2025, this step challenge inspired nearly 16,000 employees across 163 companies to get moving, and the results show just how powerful wellness can be for workplace culture.
How It Works
Each April, in honor of the American Heart Association’s Move More Month, Motion Connected hosts a four-week company-vs-company step challenge. The rules are straightforward: whichever team achieves the highest daily step average wins.
But the real prize goes far beyond bragging rights. Walking meetings, lunchtime strolls, and dog-walking breaks helped thousands of employees build healthy habits while reconnecting with coworkers
In 2025, the challenge reached record-breaking participation: 163 companies and 15,790 employees logged a collective 2.98 billion steps—enough to walk around the Earth 56 times. The results confirmed what many leaders already know: wellness and workplace culture go hand in hand.
Why Employees Love It
The Move More Challenge isn’t just about activity… It’s about motivation, community, and joy! Challenge chats were full of energy, with employees cheering each other on:
- “This is NO April Fool’s Joke. 2025 is YOUR year to thrive. Get out and get moving!” – Laura C
- “Let’s gooooo!! Walk it out in April!!” – Courtney M
That sense of camaraderie transforms step tracking into an uplifting daily habit.
Why Companies Love It
Organizations benefit just as much as their employees. The Move More Challenge delivers:
- Higher Engagement: Teams check leaderboards, banter about results, and celebrate progress.
- Culture Boost: Wellness becomes part of workplace conversations.
- Easy Setup: Motion Connected manages invites, tracking, and updates.
Take Medina County Health Department as an example: 83% of employees participated, and the team logged a 20% increase in average daily steps compared to the month before.
“We have a base of highly, self-motivated movers who enjoy a little friendly banter and competition. I showed with numbers how easily we could improve with everyone taking an extra 1,000 steps per day.” – Joe B., Dietitian
Beyond the individual results, many organizations also noticed how the challenge brought departments together in unexpected ways. Remote and in-office employees found a shared goal that cut across silos, sparking new conversations and connections. For companies looking to foster unity and collaboration, the Move More Challenge offered not just a wellness boost, but also a unique team-building opportunity that continued to resonate even after the challenge ended.
Results That Speak for Themselves
The Move More Challenge proves that small steps add up to big impact:
- 163 companies
- 15,790 participants
- 2.98 billion steps logged
- 99% of teams beat the U.S. daily step average of 5,000
Dean Distributing, one of the top-performing organizations, shared how transformative the experience was:
“The Move More Challenge was an awesome way to stay active and connected as a team. It gave us that extra motivation to keep moving, and we had a lot of fun cheering each other on throughout the challenge.” – Bobby Dean, 2025 Challenge Winner
Ready to Launch Your Own Challenge?
The secret to a stronger workplace culture might just be… more steps. By making wellness fun and accessible, companies see happier, healthier, more engaged employees.
Learn more about our workplace step challenges and schedule a demo today.
