Wellbeing at Humankind
What we're doing as we head into the holidays
It’s almost December and we’re all tired. We feel it every December and let’s face it, the tanks are extra empty this year.
Professional services isn’t easy and we know that supporting each other holistically means that we succeed as a team. With clearer minds, we can also better serve our clients.
At Humankind, we have an incredible wellbeing programme, centred around the four areas of wellbeing that matter most to our team (physical, mental, social connectedness and work wellbeing). The magic is that it is designed by our team, using an employee-centred design approach. It’s pretty special and was recently recognised with a win at the Wellington Gold Awards!
Recognising our tanks were nearing empty, we knew we had to increase the focus as we head into the well-deserved break. In case anyone else is feeling the same out there...here are some additional things we’re doing to prioritise wellbeing over the next few weeks:
- Encouraging open conversations. We are speaking about wellbeing openly as a team as well as one:ones, creating an environment where people can speak up and make wellbeing a priority.
- Keeping laser focused on workload. We’re turning an extra keen eye to workload over these next few weeks, ensuring it is shared and prioritised.
- Supporting healthy habits. Our Wellbeing Warriors provide incredible resources and activities. The reminders on healthy habits are more important now than ever. Last week we also had a masseuse come in to do 15min with each person, and next week we’re having a workshop on resilience.
- Prioritising recovery and connection. We have a number of short breaks scheduled in, designed to help our team recover and connect. Last week we had a team breakfast and the team organised a gin tasting at Denzien. There are a number of other events coming up including a walk up Mt Vic, a Christmas pot-luck dinner, and of course the year-end party!
We’re also encouraging everyone to take a full break, really unplug, and consider taking a day or two off over the next few weeks. Why go into the holidays exhausted?
It can be hard to know where to start with wellbeing at work. Check out this blog I wrote last year on how we developed our programme using a simple employee-centred approach. Don’t overthink it. Let your team define it; it doesn’t take long to start a conversation!
