How Thrive Used Intense Activity to Boost Team Wellbeing

Real health impact, powered by Kiwi.

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👥 About Thrive
Thrive is the all-in-one learning platform that transforms learning, communication, and knowledge sharing for modern teams. With AI sidekick Kiki at the centre of the experience, Thrive makes knowledge accessible, upskilling effortless, and impact measurable — helping 450+ global brands unlock their people’s full potential.

As a company that values performance and culture in equal measure, Thrive partnered with Kiwi to run a high-impact wellness challenge that could energise their people, improve wellbeing, and scale across their growing team.

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🎯 The Goal
Encourage meaningful behaviour change through one focused challenge:
60 minutes of moderate-to-intense physical activity (METs ≥ 3) each day for 30 days.

The goal was aligned with World Health Organisation guidelines, which recommend 75–150 minutes of intense activity weekly. The challenge needed to be inclusive, measurable, and motivating — reflecting Thrive’s performance-first mindset.

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💡 The Solution: Kiwi’s Power Hour Challenge
Kiwi launched the Power Hour Challenge — a 30-day initiative encouraging employees to complete 60 minutes of intense activity daily. Activities needed to hit METs ≥ 3, which includes things like brisk walking, cycling, or running — any movement that significantly raises heart rate and energy expenditure.

Tracking was seamless and inclusive:

• Employees could use their phones, wearables, or both

• Kiwi applied science-backed data cleaning and standardisation to ensure fairness across 100+ health data integrations — no matter what device people used

• The challenge worked whether someone had an Apple Watch, Fitbit, or just carried their phone

To keep things fun and engaging, employees had access to a live leaderboard — and the person with the most intense minutes at the end won a prize. This healthy competition created social accountability that drove participation and consistency.

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📊 The Results
All improvements were statistically significant, meaning they reflected genuine behaviour change — not just a temporary lift.

• +5% Wellbeing Score: Higher mood, energy, and overall life satisfaction

• +4% Activity Score: Greater consistency in intense movement (METs ≥ 3)

• +160 calories burned per person, per day: Equivalent to ~7kg of weight gain prevented over 5 years

• +1,000 additional steps per person, per day: Driven by intentional, high-effort activity

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🧠 What the Data Revealed
One of the most compelling insights? A strong link between activity and mental wellbeing.

Participants who added 1,000+ steps per day — as part of their intense activity — also saw measurable improvements in mental health. This mirrors published research showing that every extra 1,000 steps per day correlates with a reduction in DASS21 scores — a validated measure of depression, anxiety, and stress.

This means: A simple change in behaviour contributed to a meaningful reduction in psychological distress — helping Thrive employees feel more focused, resilient, and energised.

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💼 Business Impact

• Improved productivity and collaboration

• Fewer sick days and burnout indicators

• Greater engagement and culture alignment

For a company focused on helping others learn and grow, it was a powerful reminder that learning starts with wellbeing.

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✅ Why It Worked

🎯 Clear, evidence-based focus:
The challenge centred on intense activity (METs ≥ 3) — a measurable, science-backed benchmark aligned with WHO guidelines. This gave participants a tangible, meaningful goal.

📱 Inclusive and fair tracking:
Employees used phones, wearables, or both. Kiwi applied data cleaning and standardisation across 100+ integrations, ensuring fairness no matter the device — including those without wearables.

📊 Visibility and motivation:
Real-time leaderboards and personal dashboards gave employees instant feedback, reinforcing progress and helping create healthy momentum.

🙌 Social accountability without pressure:
A visible prize and friendly competition encouraged consistency — not perfection — making people want to keep showing up.

🔁 Habit-forming structure:
The 30-day, 60-minutes-a-day format struck the right balance: long enough to build habits, short enough to stay engaging. Smart nudges kept the challenge top-of-mind.

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💬 The Takeaway
Thrive proved that with the right structure, support, and tools, positive behaviour change doesn’t just happen — it scales. The Power Hour Challenge helped their people move more, feel better, and perform at their best.

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🚀 Want to see what Kiwi could do for your team?
Let’s talk.
📧 halim.yoo@kiwihealth.io
🌐 kiwihealth.io