During the height of the pandemic and lockdown, I spent a large amount of time in hospitals. It wasn’t Covid-19 related or through choice, but I was having chemotherapy treatment after being diagnosed with bowel cancer in December.
To some extent it was a welcome change of scene (and a good way to get out of homeschooling), and a chance to converse with a different set of people, albeit a set carrying out their regular duties in more trying circumstances.
I chatted a lot to doctors and nurses about the current situation, the Thursday claps, the nation’s appreciation of NHS workers, and the discounts and freebies businesses were rushing to offer them. The consensus among them was “it’s nice, but we’d prefer it if everyone was a bit healthier”.
There’s ongoing conversations about the positives that will emerge from the pandemic. My (admittedly casual) research is that NHS staff hope it’s via a healthier population, that exercise time increases and waistlines reduce, which will ultimately support the NHS. I thought about the conversations I’d had when I saw the latest NHS advert – Let’s do this – last week. Take a look at it here:
While getting people to eat well and move more won’t be a silver bullet, it has the potential to make a huge impact on our nation’s health and mental wellbeing. And we all (hopefully) know about the positive impact physical activity has on our mental health.
At Shine, we’re now working with employers and progressive businesses that want to contribute to this push. They’re aiming to get their staff to be healthier, to both support the NHS and to experience the business benefits that go with happier and healthier employees.
We all have our part to play to make the nation healthier to support the NHS, and employers can play a vital role. It’s not about getting employees to run 10k daily before they start work, or getting them to have a Kale smoothie for lunch (!), but small, engaging, initiatives and activities that can have a positive impact over time. And it’s opt-in; don’t force people to take part in any wellbeing push, but trust us, from past experience you’ll see the ripple effect in full force and in time, some of the initial sceptics will be converted.
To find out how we can help with this, drop us a line – contact@
Matthew Carlton, Founder, Shine Workplace Wellbeing