When we all spend 40+ hours a week at work, it can make all the difference to use some of those hours managing stress, especially with how the last 2 years have shaken out. One study said that American adults “…reported feeling emotionally overwhelmed and fatigued, with 87% agreeing that it “feels like there has been a constant stream of crises without a break over the last two years.” This constant onslaught of stressors makes the emphasis on wellness at work all the more important, if not just for the health of the employee then for the health of the company.
At Lender Toolkit, we’re one and a half years into our first ever Wellness Program, and the results have been so significant that we wanted to share ways a few ways that we got started so other companies can follow suit. Our program is completely optional, but those who participate regularly report life-changing results like weight loss, reduction or complete elimination of pharmaceuticals, less insomnia and anxiety, and more tools for navigating stressful situations. This took time and actually implementing the tools that were taught, but even small changes can make a big impact. Here are a few wellness tools to introduce at your company, even if you’re 100% remote like us:
- Guided meditation: this is something we do twice a week, and luckily we have an in-house meditation teacher to lead but there are tons of online teachers who contract with companies. We offer this twice a week remotely.
- Monthly workshops: these range from meal planning workshops to cooking nights to seasonally-themed wellness workshops, all offering actionable steps, tools, and resources for folks to make lifestyle changes. Our in-house health coach leads them, but there are plenty of health coaches and nutritionists that lead workshops and talks that would be great to bring in occasionally as an offering for your team.
- Fitness challenges: we use the app Count.it to create custom challenges each month. These can be individual or team challenges and track steps, cycling, yoga, mindfulness, strength training and more. The leaderboard shows progress and helps with accountability. We send a prize to each month’s winner.
Whether you hire someone to be your in-house Wellness & Culture Coordinator like we have, or you contract wellness professionals, either way you’ll leave your team more equipped to cope with stress by building emotional intelligence, which ultimately makes them better employees.
When asked in a recent survey if their lives had changed by learning mindfulness, one LTK team member said,
“YES! My own focus on being mindful and aware and trying to maintain emotional intelligence is most noticeable in my reduced anxiety and coping mechanisms to keep my cool. It is also very obvious that my children are taking note and I have seen SO many very mature and mindful moments, conversations, and changes in the way they handle what the world throws at them!”
If that doesn’t speak to the power of a simple tool like mindfulness, I’ll let renowned meditation teacher Sharon Salzburg explain in this short video:
