THEMES, TOPICS & KEY DATES

A dark subject but one that wellbeing-focused employers are begining to grapple with, not only in terms of health and wellbeing issues but also how colleagues support each other through grief.

There are a number of initiatives planned, including a Cycle Round The Globe fundraiser, run by the International Association for Suicide Prevention. It’s also a chance to link with local branches of mental health charities, including the Samaritans and good time to kick off internal initiatives such training Mental Health Champions.

Billed as “the most active day of the year” National Fitness Day encourages the nation to celebrate the fun of fitness and physical activity across the UK.

This is a well publicised day and a great opportunity to partner with others such as local schools, charities and fitness centres, as well as hold inhouse events around key areas such as nutrition for wellbeing and mental health, meditation and fitness options that also act as de-stressers, such as yoga. Give your teams a chance to look at new and interesting ways to be mentally and physically fit.

The World’s Biggest Coffee Morning  is Macmillan’s biggest fundraising event for people facing cancer. The charity encourages people all over the UK to host their own fund-raising coffee mornings.

While many events take place on the day itself (Friday is a good day for cake), you’ll find local initiatives running all through the week that you can link to. It’s a great opportunity to get teams together over something to eat. The event also presents opportunities to talk about work-life balance, staying well, dealing with stress and even lighter-hearted issues such as “healthy cake making”.

A worldwide annual campaign to highlight the importance of breast awareness, education and research. Charity Breast Cancer Now aim to get as many people as possible involved in raising awareness and funds for research and to provide life-changing support.

National Cholesterol Month is a great hook for events around healthy eating and lifestyle, including exercise options. There are a couple of big initiatives this year including “The Great Cholesterol Climb”, a virtual challenge where teams undertake to climb a 13,177 steps UP – equivalent to climbing 10 of Britain’s tallest buildings.

Stoptober is a Public Health England campaign and part of the One You health campaign that is held every October with the aim of helping people quit smoking. Can be teamed with wider health and wellbeing initiatives.

This is a global initiative, so a great one for organisations working outside as well as inside the UK.

This year’s theme set by the World Federation for Mental Health is young people and mental health in a changing world. It’s an interesting hook for broaching mental wellness with younger segments of your workforce and we can organise workshops around mental health awareness – your own as well as the health of others – and training up mental health champions.

National Work Life Week is an opportunity for both employers and employees to focus on wellbeing at work and work-life balance. Why not use the week to showcase your policies and practices, as well as organising specific workshops around important areas such as time management, energy and motivation.

Back pain is very common but often little understood. This is the main charity, BackCare, is focusing on back pain issue and golfers.

The menopause is a natural part of ageing that usually occurs between 45 and 55 years of age, as oestrogen levels decline. Menopause symptoms can have a significant impact on attendance and performance in the workplace.

Movember is responsible for thousands of mustaches being grown on men’s faces in the UK and around the world – and then shaved off again. The aim of Movember is to raise vital funds and awareness for men’s health, specifically prostate cancer.

An international initiative around stress so good for global organisations looking for a theme than can be shared across countries. The aim is to develop greater understanding of stress and offer individuals and organisations access to proven coping strategies and sources of help.

The theme this year is “resilience” and we offer specific resilience and optimism workshops and team days.

Go vegetarian or vegan for the month of November to raise money for Cancer Research UK. A great way of discussing the importance of nutrition. You can also talk to us about our ‘Hi Table’ initiative, designed to reclaim the lunch hour and showcasing the people and business benefits this can bring.

Anti-Bullying Week happens in schools across England each November. This year’s Anti-Bullying Week has the theme Change Starts With Us and it is an opportunity for employers to work with local achools and colleges. It can also enable conversations around workplace bullying.

It’s easy to think there’s no right place to talk about mental health and people with mental health problems can feel very isolated. Time to Talk Day is designed to help create more openness about mental health – to talk, to listen, to change lives.

We can offer mental health awareness and mental health champions’ training. This could also link to broader initiatives around giving managers and leaders coaching skills.

A month long initiative designed to increase public awareness of both the causes and cures for stress.

This initiative originated in the States in 2004 and is now recognised globally. It encourages people to leave their car keys at home, or getting off public transport a stop or two early.

Hosted by the Mental Health Foundation, Mental Health Awareness Week is an annual event and takes place in May.

Cycle to Work Day is the UK’s biggest cycle commuting event. This is a great event if you want to get employee families involved. For example, cycling proficiency tests for younger riders and tips on bicycle maintenance.  Can also be teamed with broader workshops around health, wellbeing and green initiatives such as car sharing.

Ways to manage energy levels and build your resilience.

Ideas to get the most out of working with, or leading, a team.

A chance for individuals to experience a one-to-one coaching session and set some goals.

Have a go at yoga and how to use simple postures to raise energy levels, improve focus, or reduce stress.

Role role of nutrition and how to have healthy eating conversations in the workplace.

Meditation and breathing techniques to help refocus and find ways to destress in the busy work day.

A chance to raise awareness so people better understand their own mental wellness and become more tuned in to others.

We also train mental health champions to lead internal initiatives.