Using tech to keep your team’s body and soul connected during lockdown

Lockdown for your employees can feel a little like being the kids in an awkward co-parenting situation: everyone is still smiling and friendly, but the rules have changed and you have a sneaky suspicion nothing’s ever going to be the same again.

But, instead of crying over the ‘good old days’ of high-fives and drinks after work, we have started to adapt, and move forward. We’re using Zoom for meetings, we’ve figured out homeschooling, we try to go for walks, and we’re soldiering on. Brilliant.

So, what happened to health and wellness at the (home) office?

In a normal office environment there are many initiatives that foster wellness in the workplace. The reason is supported by oodles of data: a healthy, happy employee makes for a healthy, happy bottom line. However, with Covid-19 disrupting things somewhat, this seems to have been put on ice.

No more. With most businesses boasting it’s ‘business as usual’, the prerogative is still on the employer to ensure that their employees are mentally and emotionally healthy, even if they are working remotely.

In fact, studies show that when people work from home they tend to work longer hours than if they are at the office. Add to that the stress of kids and spouses demanding more attention, plus the fear of the unknown in this uncertain economy, and it is no wonder that the one feeling that is most prevalent during lockdown is ‘tired’. 

That’s not good. 

A tired employee is less engaged, less innovative, less able to problem solve, and less motivated.

This is bad. Bad for business. Bad for your customers. Bad for you.

Thankfully, there are ways to keep your employees’ wellness and health at optimal levels, even if they are working from home. 

Using tech to foster health and wellness remotely

Using tech like conference apps is useful for online meetings and digital or virtual events, like launches, activations, and exhibitions. By the same token, there are eventing apps that are specifically designed to bring health and wellness initiatives straight into peoples’ homes.

These apps are used to deliver events like online home workouts that are presented by a personal trainer directly to your employees. They keep heart rates up, stress levels down, endorphins flowing, and have other benefits like feeling good, and sleeping better. Additionally, these events can be joined by the whole family, and help to keep everyone moving.

Another much-needed event to offer your staff is a mental health workshop. This highly beneficial event helps employees identify and manage their anxiety and stress levels in a healthy way. Feelings like anger, frustration, depression, and emotional exhaustion are rife in this lockdown period. Your staff need the tools and a safe platform to process these feelings in an appropriate manner.

You can also try some of these fun ideas to activate and connect your best asset (your employees) and release some tension, and build team spirit. All of these can be done using tech: 

• Online game nights, where the team dials in via Zoom or Microsoft Teams, and an event host facilitates games like Bingo, a talent show, or a quiz night 
• Ladies’ pampering events, where a beauty professional teaches the women in your team skincare, makeup and massage therapy techniques

We’re not exactly sure how long lockdown is going to last for, or what the far-reaching effects of lockdown will be. What we do know is that if we don’t take care of our employees health and wellness right now, we won’t have much to work with by the time we’re allowed to come back together again.

Taking care of your team, no matter where they are, is always a worthwhile investment.