HR and Business Leaders, are you ready to revolutionize your workplace wellbeing strategy?
World Mental Health Day is just around the corner. While awareness campaigns are essential, what truly transforms organizations is a sustainable, integrated approach to well-being. Let’s shift our focus from one-off events to creating a culture where mental health thrives year-round.
Introducing RENEWALism, a framework centered on creating positive habits that impact people, purpose, and process. It’s about more than just initiatives; it’s about a mindset shift that builds corporate culture through changes in individual habits.
To get you started this World Mental Health Day, we have an acronym for R.E.N.E.W.A.L.i.s.m.
R.E.N.E.W.A.L.i.s.m. as an acronym
The key to success lies in simple, easily implementable activities that become ingrained as habits. Here are executable ideas based on the acronym R.E.N.E.W.A.L.i.s.m. to guide you. Think of them as tactics aligned with the sustainable RENEWALism strategy:
R is for Recognition We often recognize professional achievements, but what about personal wins? Create a whiteboard space for employees to share their well-being victories – whether it’s a new recipe for an energy drink or the story of a fear they conquered. This fosters a culture of support and inspires others.
E is for Encourage Shift the focus from just offering support to actively encouraging positivity. Designate time in meetings to shift people up – through gratitude sharing. Doing so, you deliberately move the meeting energy and this can significantly boost morale, encourage listening, and collaboration.
N is for Nurture Prioritize social connections. Encourage people to call each other by name. Often even colleagues two cubicles away do not know each other’s name. Knowing it could spur informal interactions and strong relationships that lead to breaking of silos, lateral thinking, and cooperation.
E is for Exercise We often associate exercise with strenuous stuff, but it’s important to understand that exercise can be short, simple, and repetitive for mental and overall well-being. Encourage short movement breaks, mindfulness exercises, and activities of body, mind, and spirit that interrupt sedentary patterns.
W is for Walk the Talk Leadership sets the tone. Demonstrate your commitment to well-being through what you say, what you do, and what you feel (how you be). Being in alignment of Say-Do-Be puts us in integrity, making us stress-free, and capable of excelling in our well-being initiatives.
A is for Assimilate Encourage assimilation of food to conserve energy. Eat natural food, chew more, and drop processed foods as they assimilate slower within us. For the mind, do not multitask so energy is assimilated on the project at hand. And practice Qigong to assimilate body, mind, and spirit together.
L is for Listen Create open channels for feedback. Conduct regular surveys or employee engagement sessions. Actively listen to employees’ needs and concerns through quarterly open houses. Use this input to refine your well-being initiatives.
Each of the above seven activities – with sub-activities at the body-mind-spirit level – could become your focus of every month for the next 12 months. Reach out to us to plan the same easily for your organization. You could whatsapp here for fastest response.
The next three activities are for hygiene and back-office-type. Here they go:
I is for Intel Hub Establish a central repository of well-being resources. This can include articles, videos, employee success stories, and contact information for mental health support. The white board notes you receive every month from the first recommendation (R for Recognition) can also be digitized in this hub.
S is for Safe Space It is excellent to supplement the activities with an external human touch, so that employees have a means to speak with a counsellor or dietary expert or Qigong guide to share personal issues and align with the solutions the organization offers. To have a physical meditative space is also great.
M is for Measure Track the impact of your well-being initiatives. What can be measured can be controlled and hence you must know where you are today to compliment your team on the improvements by the next World Mental Health Day! Check out some free assessment tools here!
By incorporating these elements into your workplace, you can create a culture where well-being is not just a buzzword, but a lived reality. Remember, small, consistent steps can lead to significant improvements in employee well-being and organizational performance.
Ready to embark on this journey? Let’s work together to create a mentally thriving workplace. Contact Sandeep Nath to discuss your organization’s specific needs and explore tailored solutions.
World Mental Health Day is just the beginning. Let’s build a foundation for lasting change.