We have “wellness champions” which are people from all divisions in our company who come together and discuss questions/concerns that have been brought up to them and they all discuss possible solutions and they bring those discussions back to their people.
We have weekly voluntary SYNC meetings (Sharing Your Needs and Connecting). Staff are separated into smaller groups based on their function/role. It is an opportunity to meet, discuss issues, concerns, ideas and share feelings and thoughts. It is not focused on work content as much as workplace and personal experience. It is a way to stay connected with colleagues and to discuss shared experiences, especially when most of us are working remotely throughout the pandemic.
Denise, I absolutely love this idea. Do you have any specific details you could share about how this was created and managed at your work place? As I think this would be an amazing program for my company.
The sessions were separated into groups with some commonality (managers had a separate group, staff in common roles/teams were pulled together) and were run by a moderator. For the staff groups, the moderator was a staff member from the Mental Health Promotion team and managers were not present. It offered staff the opportunity to have discussions without feeling the discussions would result in any reprisal. The discussions were kept respectful and work appropriate (not meant to be gripe sessions) but the groups also were able to share their experiences/concerns in a different capacity than in the team meeting environment. Subject matter varied based on suggestions from the group and were focused more on personal experiences in the work setting than solving work-related problems. Meetings were held weekly and for 1/2 hour. Most groups continued to meet for a few months or until the group decided that the need was no longer there. It was a great way to stay connected with other staff, share common experiences, and feel validated.
This one i find very funny, reliable especially during the work from home timeline…….as soon as a trigger is felt, immediately asked to be excused for a minute and step away. of course depending on the nature of event may necessitate a bit of tailoring.
During the summer months, having our meetings outside. Every hour or so, getting up and stretching and sometimes I will round up a few people to come and stretch with me!! Also important, I remind myself to not take stuff personally!!!
A number of my office-mates & I get together & go out for a quick walk morning & afternoon, when weather allows. Gives just enough of a break from our computers to refresh our minds.
In the summer, I take the time to get out of the office for an hour and go for a walk. I started this a few years ago and now other co workers are doing the same…in groups or individually. In the winter, if I can’t get away, I turn off my computer, listen to some music or read a book for 30 minutes, just to relax. It really helps on days that I’m stressing. We don’t have company wellness strategies that are promoted but, in my position, I try to stress to employees taking a mental break during the day to recharge when needed.
