It’s World Wellbeing Week in a couple of weeks (22nd – 26th June) and some UK businesses have given themselves a virtual head start!
First to take to the stage is UK banking group, Santander, who shared on Tuesday that they would be offering every one of their 23,500 employees extended access to their physical, social, mental and financial wellbeing support virtually.
If employees are looking for mental wellbeing support they can do so through Thrive, Santander’s mental wellbeing app and if financial advice is what they need, they are directed to their partner Nudge, a financial wellbeing consultancy. They’ve even set up new avenues of support to assist with any COVID-19 related anxiety, such as access to trained psychologists, a growing employee-led mental wellbeing network and wellbeing webinars.
Also joining Santander in the transition to virtual wellbeing is Waitrose and John Lewis. The retailers have recently teamed up with Vitality, a health and life insurer, to deliver a series of virtual workshops on health and wellbeing free-of-charge to myWaitrose and myJohn Lewis members.
These workshops range from talks with in-house Waitrose nutritionists and family fitness classes with Olympic athletes, to classes on posture principles delivered by Lord Sebastian Coe and cardio sessions with Vitality’s own in-house clinicians and coaches.
We know that lockdown will be taking a toll on all of us, whether that’s mental or physical, and it’s great to see that some UK businesses are paving the way for virtual access to wellness. Who’ll be next to join in on this trend?