Take care of your team: Wellness Team Building

“Take care of your employees and they’ll take care of your business.” (Richard Branson) One of the companies we collaborate with, wrote a wonderful article about the workshop we realized with them (link below). It motivated me to write this blog and share the benefits of taking care of your team through a Wellness Team Building.

• What is a “Wellness Team Building”?
  The term refers to activities or programs designed to promote both teamwork and employee well-being within the workplace. It usually involves workshops or motivational speeches around self-care, nutrition, mindfulness, stress management, emotional intelligence, etc. and often includes practices that help the team members to connect both to their own body and mind as well as fostering positive relationships with their colleagues.

• Why is it important to look after your team member’s well-being?
  “Health is a state of complete physical, mental and social well-being and not merely the absence of disease or infirmity.” according to the definition of the World Health Organization (WHO). As we spend a big part of our time at the workplace, it is crucial to offer supportive initiatives as a company. Over the last years, there have been many improvements, especially when it comes to physical health such as ergonomics (office facilities, screens, lighting, posture, ..), sports programs, healthy nutrition, etc. Mental health has gained an important weight but there are still way too little proactive and preventive initiatives that support team members to face stressful situations, difficult conversations, emotions, in fact any (personal) challenges that affect our lives and work. “We are human beings, not human doings.” (Dalai Lama) It’s about time, that we recognise and integrate this in our professional environment.

• What are the benefits of a Wellness Team Building?
  Organised well and with enough time for the team members to learn new techniques and to connect with their colleagues, these activities can contribute to
  • a healthier, more positive environment at the workplace, leading to higher employee satisfaction.
  • the team’s mental health and a such: creativity, resilience, productivity, emotional intelligence, empathy, work-life harmony, … 
  • better relationships, communication and collaboration by bringing colleagues together in a new and different context to their day-to-day responsibilities and roles. 

• How to make your Wellness Team Building a success?
  Define the objectives of the activity, think about the audience (eg. do you want to organise it for one specific team or mix colleagues from different teams; as well as their demographics and interests), the logistics and how to make it inclusive for all team members (if you have a hybrid team or team members with special needs: how can everyone join?), timing (choose a day well in advance and block the team’s calendar so that everyone can prepare their calendar accordingly). It is recommendable to collaborate with experts who have experience with this kind of activities as they help you to create a safe environment and evaluate the status quo as well as feedback from an objective point of view.

• Team Building with Little healthy habits
  We would be more than happy to share with your team our easy and practical tips, combining corporate experience with yoga, meditation and mindfulness tools. You will learn about stress and balance, how to connect body and mind and take healthy breaks, different breathing techniques, how to be in the present moment, exercises in moments of anxiety, and much more. For our team buildings, we offer a standard in-person workshop of about 2 hours for a group of (recommended) 25 people. The reason for this number is that it allows an intimate space for the group to share personal experiences and reflections but if your team is bigger, we always find a way (as we count on collaborators and we’ve accomplished team buildings for >60 people). 
  Some of the comments from the participants from the last team building:
  • “All the preoccupations vanished during the 2 hours of the workshop.”
  • “We acquired both new, theoretical knowledge and realised practices such as: body scan, stretching and body movement, mindfulness, conscious breathing, …”
  • “We learned that smiling releases endorphins, dopamine and serotonin, and finished with a big smile from ear to ear.”
  • “We received a session by Julia after an intense day presenting our annual strategy and goals. She did some kind of magic as I arrived at home with a complete sense of relaxation and peace. Furthermore, it was a great team building activity as doing the exercises in a group made it really fun. A session I totally recommend where I learnt tips for life.”
  • “The whole team felt delighted with the workshop and motivated to integrate our learnings in our day to day as well as to keep practicing the tips at home.”

If you speak Spanish, please read their own words: https://www.venuesplace.com/es/idea/549-un-team-building-wellness-muy-especial-little-healthy-habits

Has this article motivated you to try a Wellness Team Building?
Send us an E-Mail to hello@littlehealthyhabits.com.