Wellness activities for team building 

When organisations prioritise wellbeing, employees are more likely to actively engage with work and boost general productivity

CREDIT: This is an edited version of an article that originally appeared on Indeed

Wellness activities are group activities that can help people overcome work-related stress and improve their personal wellbeing. They encourage professionals to build closer social connections with colleagues, which encourages shared feelings of belonging. 

Here are 12 examples of wellness activities that you might practise during team-building exercises at work.

Practising mindfulness – one useful wellness technique is mindfulness, which uses meditations to encourage people to be fully-aware of their surroundings and bodily sensations. You can use this technique to help colleagues to ease anxiety by being accepting of intrusive thoughts, emotions or feelings. If team members practise mindfulness regularly, it can equip them to address work stress independently so that they can continue to work productively under pressure. 

Group exercise sessions – according to the mental wellbeing charity Mind, exercise can improve mental health by distracting people from stressful work and releasing positive hormones that provide energy. You may also design shared goals for individual sessions or the long term. In the interim, you might train with colleagues to help them make physical progress. Creating common exercise goals could help teammates to bond, encouraging further collaboration in the workplace.

Walking meetings- arrange walking meetings with colleagues to discuss recent business developments either in-person or via mobile ‘phone. These meetings can take place in a range of environments, such as green spaces or gymnasiums. Walking meetings can create a more relaxed work environment, and colleagues may feel more confident in voicing their opinion, leading to more creative problem-solving. Walking meetings also create opportunities for staff to blend work and exercise, allowing them to protect their physical health during busy shifts.

Celebrating colleagues’ professional milestones – organising special events for colleagues’ professional milestones, such as work anniversaries or completing their first large project, can show them how the organisation values their contribution to its financial success. Event ideas include peer recognition sessions, personalised travel gifts or team dinners. For long-serving employees, you might also offer financial bonuses or extra days off as rewards for their tenure; colleagues can then feel more motivated to stay with you and actively engage with their work. 

Business retreats – organise short business retreats that allow colleagues to socialise outside of the office. Business retreats often include physical and social activities that encourage team building, such as white water rafting, hiking or team lunches. Teammates can use these experiences to learn about one another’s lives, professional values and personal interests. Upon returning to the office, teammates may use their newfound togetherness to collaborate more effectively.

Evening social events – team bonding can be enhanced through evening social events, such as themed parties, experience events or departmental quizzes. These casual events can reward colleagues for their hard work and may take place prior to seasonal holidays, such as Christmas.

Healthy living initiatives – organise healthy living initiatives to encourage colleagues to improve their physical health. For example, you might make it easier for colleagues to exercise by creating bike-to-work schemes or subsidising gym membership. You can also help colleagues to create more nutritious diets by providing low-calorie recipe ideas or discounts from selected food retailers.

Wellness talks and workshops – employ a health expert to provide regular talks that offer advice about wellness topics such as stress relief, healthy diets or illness risks. These talks can teach colleagues how to practise healthier lifestyles, identify signs of physical or mental health problems or develop emotional resilience. Experts could also lead interactive workshops that allow colleagues to practise mindfulness techniques or develop strategies to stay calm in stressful situations. During such events, colleagues may also pick up ideas to guide them when practising wellness outside the office.

Flexible work schedules – allow staff to adopt flexible work schedules because, according to Mind, flexible working improves colleagues’ work-life balance by enabling them to manage both work and personal commitments. To improve wellbeing, permit colleagues to work remotely on slow days. Within the traditional nine-to-five working day, you could designate set periods as core hours to grant employees the flexibility to decide their own schedules. 

Office book club – an office book club, where colleagues meet once per month to choose and discuss a specific novel, is often a successful wellbeing activity. Book clubs allow staff to discover what genre of books different colleagues enjoy reading and so learn more about them as people. They can then make book recommendations to colleagues based on their interests.