Corporate Wellness in London Overview
Practices such as yoga, meditation, mindfulness and massage have been well documented for their capacity to reduce stress and improve health. At work, lower stress equates to greater satisfaction, creativity, productivity and reduced absenteeism and time sitting at work under the weather!
Progressive employers are also more likely to attract a greater calibre of recruit – businesses the world over are realising this and incorporating wellness practices into their workplaces.
To see how effectively wellbeing practices translate economically view this government commissioned research by Pricewaterhouse Coopers which highlights the commercial benefits of wellness initiatives at work – for example that for each £1 spent, there has been a quantifiable recovery of £4.17 in programme benefits.
From both the employers and employee’s perspective there are many benefits;
Benefits for both Employer and Employee
Employer benefits
- Reduction in sick days (workplace stress now accounts for around 160million lost days per year*)
- Reduction in stress, anxiety and depression (the leading cause of long-term absence*)
- Cost benefit of improved wellness (stress related absence costs the U.K economy £4billion*)
- Improvement in workplace atmosphere
- Team building – sometimes we need to transcend our hierarchy and connect as equals
- Accelerated learning and creativity – Yoga practice stimulates right brain function
- Improved employee satisfaction
- Improvement to posture (The HSE estimates that musculoskeletal disorders are responsible for almost 10 million lost working days per annum**)
Employee benefits
- Calming of the nervous system and therefore clearer mind
- Improved workplace atmosphere and rapport with colleagues
- Improvement to digestion, sleep, energy levels and posture
- Improvement to family life, relationships, intimacy
- Relief of emotional frustration
- Greater connection to your passions (when you are more ’embodied’ you feel more and become more discerning)
* Reference: ubcuk “Workplace Stress Costs-4billion”
** Reference: Pricewaterhouse Coopers “Building The Case for Wellness”
More Information
The Unique Challenges of Each Workplace
Our programmes and sessions are designed to suit the needs of your team, since every workplace and office ‘climate’ is different, so what your team needs is unique.
Sometimes there’s a need for reflection and relaxation, sometimes inspiration and a broadening of perspective, sometimes creativity, sometimes wellbeing education, and other times, stillness.
It’s very easy to get locked into a pattern in modern western culture of over work, or equally as importantly, not getting enough deep rest. Working hard of itself isn’t necessarily a bad thing – particularly when it’s creatively inspired and from our natural impetus – but the fact is we don’t often have enough time to recover from the stress we are put under, and this is a big part of the problem.
Amplified Stress = The Need for Amplified Relaxation
There are two basic choices on how to manage stress:
- We can try and reduce the amount of time we are working and under stress, which by association increases the amount of time we have to rest and relax.
- Or we can help to balance the stress by including in our routine some amplified relaxation techniques. This option allows us much quicker recovery from stress, so there is less emphasis on needing to reduce our exposure to it as we rejuvenate quicker.
Relative Rest v/s Deep Rest
Going home and sitting in front of the TV with a glass of red wine sounds great, but all that actually does is trance you out, while your hypothalamus in your brain is irritated by the flicking screen and your nervous system and adrenals are still significantly activated. Our desire for the alcohol is also often driven by it acting as a Liver sedative – since the Liver becomes irritated by excessive work and stress.
So while it is relatively restful, compared with the stress of the day, it’s a poor second when compared with how quickly and deeply holistic practices and treatments can relax you.
These practices can take you way beyond your passive state of relaxation, so your body rests and replenishes much more deeply. This means that when your energy and vitality recharges and comes back to the surface it’s much more potent. And you can then also have more time and sense of space in your life to enjoy that glass of red too.
The Benefits of Wellness Education
Wellness Principles communicated in an accessible way really engages and enthrals the intellect and it’s a very popular addition to workplace culture.
Explained well, natural principles and philosophies have a huge impact on people, as the intelligence of them resonates on a deep level and can create fundamental behavioural shifts.
For example the concept of yin (inward & restful) and yang (outward and exertive) is paramount. When observed that everything in nature is subject to these counterbalancing forces then not only does the idea of deep rest become more attractive, but people also start to realise the futility of ‘borrowing from the invisible energy bank’ and begin to listen when the body is calling for quiet.
At creative wellness we really like to offer holistic therapy for Body, Mind and Emotions AND Lifestyle.