NEW YORK, Sept. 17, 2014 /PRNewswire/ -- Alcoa employees have taken home the title of "World's Most Active Organisation" for the second consecutive year. In teams of seven, the workforce of this manufacturing powerhouse crossed the globe 417 times in 100 days, all part of a virtual challenge rolled out to promote good health, friendly competition and better performance in the workplace.

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The accomplishment comes after 22,000 Alcoa employees participated in the 2014 Global Corporate Challenge (GCC) -- a leading employee health and performance initiative whose 100-day virtual journey around the globe is part of a program encompassing physical activity, nutrition and sleep.    

Founded over a decade ago, the GCC drives sustainable behaviour change through a nuanced mix of education, awareness and motivation. The program blends science with entertainment so employees and their organisations enjoy the benefits that come with long-term health and performance.

After taking part, 85% of participating Alcoa employees said the initiative had a positive impact on their relationship with exercise. A further 69% said they had improved their energy levels, while nearly 59% said GCC had decreased their levels of stress either at work or at home.

For years, organisations have known that there is a direct link between the health of their employees and levels of performance, morale and engagement. What hasn't always been quite so clear, however, is how employers can help improve the habits of their people. 

"Wellness is an integral part of our values, just like safety, and the Global Corporate Challenge proved to be an excellent initiative to help our employees achieve demonstrable improvements to their health, which ultimately makes them more productive and engaged," explained Kevin McKnight, Vice President of Environment, Health and Safety and Chief Sustainability Officer.

During the 100-day journey, participants can walk, run, cycle or swim and track their progress on the GCC website or via award-winning mobile apps. Teams can see their group and individual progress, as well as that of their competitors, join the community hub to interact with other participants, and claim virtual rewards based on their accomplishments.

When Alcoa, a leading producer of aluminium, first joined the program three years ago, the timing was perfect. The organisation had just launched its own internal initiative promoting more exercise, better nutrition, decreased tobacco usage and increased wellbeing for employees. In its first year of GCC, 651 employees took part. Since then, the demand has steadily grown, with 22,484 teams participating in 2014.

"Alcoa joined the Global Corporate Challenge to give our employees an opportunity to increase their level of physical activity and to improve their heart health," explained McKnight. "The interest and engagement from our workforce was fantastic and we are extremely proud of what our employees collectively accomplished," he added.

Alcoa's employees are part of a global movement: this year's GCC hosted over 40,000 teams comprised of almost 300,000 employees from 1,200 organisations around the world. Novartis provided strong competition for the title of "World's Most Active Organisation", claiming second spot while Royal Dutch Shell came a close third.

Of all the industries that participate in the GCC, Fujitsu took the number one place in the I.T. industry, while Thomson Reuters claimed top position in the Professional Services category.

After a well-deserved break, participants now look forward to GCC Sprint where they will try to outpace virtual opponents over the challenging holiday period between Thanksgiving and New Year's Day.

Statistics derived from participants who completed both the pre-event and post-event online survey.

Media enquiries

For more information, contact Glenn Riseley, Founder and President at +1-917-291-2746 or glennr@gettheworldmoving.com

About GCC

GCC works with businesses all over the world to improve the health and performance of their employees.

Over the past 11 years, our program has transformed the cultures of thousands of the world's leading organisations and changed the lives of more than 1.5 million employees across 185 countries.

Our scientifically developed, independently proven program takes employees on a journey that fundamentally improves their relationship with exercise, nutrition and sleep, and instills in them a new sense of personal responsibility, self-belief and resilience.

In other words, we deliver a simple and effective solution that optimizes your most valuable asset -- your people -- and ensures they arrive each day in the right physical and mental shape, so that they're fully engaged and ready to take on the world. 

SOURCE GCC