This month, Wellbeing at Work want to highlight National Walking Month and Mental Health Awareness Week as well as lots of supporting information. This is not only to benefit your physical health but also your mental wellbeing! We will also share the highlights of our Annual Awards Conference, Wellbeing Champion Winners and more Wellbeing Updates as we move into the warmer months! Scroll down to learn more!

Living Streets, National Walking Month Campaign has come back around again! What a perfect opportunity to get out into nature as we move into the warmer months!

Walking is one of the easiest ways to improve physical and mental health as well as stay connected to the community and nature. This reduces feelings of loneliness and isolation.
 
Did you know that 20 minutes of walking can reduce the risk of preventable health conditions, including certain cancers, heart disease and Type 2 diabetes!

This years theme for Mental Health Awareness Week on the 15th of May until the 21st is Anxiety. 

Anxiety is a normal emotion in all of us, however, sometimes it can get out of control and become a mental health problem. Lots of things can cause anxiety, signifying anxiety as the most common mental health issue that individuals face. 

Focus on anxiety in the workplace this year for Mental Health Awareness Week. This can be done by providing information to improve awareness and support others, which can help prevent anxiety from becoming a problem and improve employees' wellbeing.

You're walking for National Walking Month and being mindful of mental health for Mental Health Awareness Week! So, why not add some healthy food to boost your mood?  

Some studies suggest that we are what we eat so it can definitely affect how we feel and function! With that, certain foods can help with depression and anxiety. These foods can also be very nutritious and tasty! 

Qwell, a digital community here to support and improve the emotional wellbeing and mental health of adults across Devon, Cornwall, Plymouth and Torbay. 

Sign up for free with an anonymous username and safely gain support within their community, therapeutic content and personal development tools for better
mental wellbeing. 

Distribute this information around your workplace to support employee wellbeing!

We had our Annual Awards Conference today!

Joining us at our conference were guest speakers Casey Bodman, Public Mental Health Lead and Dominic Gallagher, Health and Wellbeing Manager at the Office of Health Improvement and Disparities (OHID). Dominic updated us on workplace health with updated statistics and explained the importance of focusing on health and wellbeing at work. With Casey providing an update on mental health, the importance to support mental wellbeing in the workplace and issues such as burnout the cost of ill-health for businesses. 

Annette Davey, Designated Lead Safeguarding Officer from Skills Group joined us to celebrate their Bronze Award achievement in our Wellbeing Awards. Annette also discussed how Wellbeing Champions have impacted their workplace for the better! 

Furthermore, we celebrated the businesses that are implementing meaningful changes in their workplaces in order to improve wellbeing.
Special recognition was also given to our inspirational Wellbeing Champions. These Champions take positive actions to support their colleagues' mental health and wellbeing through encouraging, meaningful messages and actions within their workplace. 

Scroll down to find out more about Wellbeing Champion Awards!

To learn more, catch up on our YouTube Channel!

We'd like to thank you all for your Wellbeing Champion nominations! 
For this year's awards we'd like to announce our winners:

Dan Birt from The Co-op, 'Wellbeing Champion of the Year 2023'

Suzanne Williams from Livewell Southwest, 'Wellbeing Champion Special Recognition 2023' 

Briony Goldsmith from The University of Plymouth, 'Wellbeing Champion Initiative 2023'

Wellbeing Champion Team at Plymouth City Council, 'Wellbeing Champion Team of the Year 2023'
 

As part of #NationalWalkingMonth and #SandwichWeek, we're eager to share our July webinar with you!

Our team would like to invite you to take part in an interactive FREE discussion on Eating Healthy and Exercising in the Workplace taking place on Wednesday 12th of July from 10:00am until 11:30am. Our guest speaker for the event is Diane Gavin, a Health Improvement Practitioner from Livewell Southwest.

As part of the webinar, we will also provide an opportunity for you to hear about the latest developments on Wellbeing at Work as well as to network with other businesses and champions.

Emily Bradley, Wellbeing Champion from the University of Plymouth, recently contacted us to let us know about yoga sessions she and her team have organised to improve their team's wellbeing!

The perfect activity to get everyone moving for better physical and mental health! The sessions were so well received, with many commenting on how enjoyable the experience was! They also commented on how it inspired them to continue attending classes on their own. Some have even expressed how relaxed they felt coming back to their work load in the afternoon!

This is an excellent activity to promote better health in the workplace. It will improve stress levels, build connections within your team and boost morale!

Well done Emily Bradley and the rest of the Wellbeing Team at The Faculty of Science and Engineering, University of Plymouth - Stephanie Redmond, Stella Yates, Donella Bone, Maria Nimmo, Chris Scanlon and Lorraine Knight!

During National Walking Month, we want to highlight the Walking Ramblers. Their walks take place across Britain in all of our inspiring and beautiful environments! You can explore stunning coastlines, bustling cities, as well as stunning woodlands and moorlands! Get your boots on and explore! There's somewhere for everyone to walk! 

It's a nice sunny day so you decide to take your break outside with an enjoyable walk and your lunch! So, why not make it a delicious lunch with a healthy British sandwich during Sandwich Week!

The sandwich is known as the most common household dish in the UK, due to its affordability, healthiness and countless recipes - anything can be put between two slices of bread! Since the food item is so essential in today's world, celebrating its invention every year is a must!

Starting from May 16th until May 22nd, fill your belly with your favourite sandwich or try something different with the recipes below!

Wellbeing Champions, here is your reminder of our catch up with you all on msTeams on Tuesday 2nd of May from 11am till 12pm! 
For this month's catch up, our topic will be 'Physical Wellbeing' and how we can promote Physical Activity in the workplace/community to improve our wellbeing! This will be in support of National Walking Month. You will also have the chance to share best practice, give an update on all the wellbeing projects you are doing in your workplace as well as gain inspiration from other Wellbeing Champions! 

These are completely optional, but we would love to see you all virtually - invites have been sent out to your emails, we look forward to seeing you next week! 

For Mental Health Awareness Week, we want to remind you of our Mental Health First Aid Training!
We are competitively priced, compared to other organisations and are able to provide bespoke offers for your business!
By training up your employee's to become MHFAiders, you are improving your workplace mental health and providing up to date and knowledgeable support for your colleagues!

Find out more by clicking the link below!

Upcoming Campaigns