Rackers Across the World Walk for Wellness

For many Rackers around the world, October ushered in a changing of the seasons. Regardless of whether they were headed into the leaf color show of fall or the new growth of spring, the month marked the perfect time to make wellbeing a priority by getting outside, enjoying the weather, and taking a walk. 

Racker Wellness is our top priority, which is why the company was proud to launch Walktober — a month-long event to support Racker wellness. The 31-day digital campaign encouraged all Rackers to invest in their well-being by empowering them to take breaks throughout the day and get active by going on a walk, getting in exercise, or just doing something physical around their homes.

"Staying active with a calendar full of Zoom meetings means being intentional – whether it’s a walking meeting, fitting in a 20-minute stretch video over lunch, or being “less efficient” with chores to get in more steps, having a program like Walktober reminds me to make it happen every day!" – Kelly Butler, Senior Vice President, Global HR Services.

The goal was simple: Rackers take steps and/or track their exercise while focusing on their physical and mental health, with the incentive of gathering leaves at different fitness milestones to fill their virtual tree.

Remotely Together

Another important aspect of the digital event was to encourage teamwork through friendly competition, while supporting one another through daily motivation and interactive message boards.

“I loved getting my furr-baby, Chevy, out on a midday walk! I have found that by investing in my mental wellbeing I am much more motivated to get physically active,” said Lindsey Stich, Employee Experience Program Manager and chief organizer of the event. “I am thankful that Rackspace Technology embraces flexible ways of working to empower Rackers to invest in their mental and physical wellbeing throughout the workday."

It wasn’t just Rackers taking the Walktober journey this year.  Rackers also had the option to invite a “Plus One,” someone who isn’t a Racker, to join them as they logged their steps.

Altogether 1,535 Rackers and 75 “plus ones” participated for the entire month of October from more than 16 countries around the world! Rackers participated individually, or as part of one of the 187 teams created to playfully compete for bragging rights — something many Rackers used as motivation to stick with it.

"Rackspace Technology encourages community and group engagement through various mental and physical well-being practices that have helped me stay active since joining.” Rupali Bhutani, Program Manager, shared. “Since I was competing with my fellow colleagues, I gave my best."

In the end, our global army of Rackers from Canada, Colombia, Egypt, Germany, Hong Kong, India, Japan, Malaysia, Mexico, Netherlands, Poland, Singapore, Switzerland, United Arab Emirates, United Kingdom, and the United States walked a total of 313,125,937 steps or 130,469 miles (209,970km) — that's a trip around the world more than five times!

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