Earlier this week we got an email from Kelly, who works as a Holistic Therapist in a palliate hospice caring for adults from 18 years onwards in the area of St. Helens and Knowsley, in the UK. She told us that is a deprived area of the north west of England with some of the highest rates of cancer in the UK.
Kelly: ‘My role is to provide wellbeing to our patients (through education and hands on complementary therapies) but with compassion fatigue on the increase, our jobs are a secondary stress to our home lives so I have devised an annual staff and volunteer wellbeing planner that incorporates some relevant national events to raise awareness of self-care, self-awareness, building resilience and self-management techniques to increase wellness and wellbeing. I felt the International Week of Happiness at Work was vital to be part of that planner to encourage work colleagues to develop self-awareness, education. Like what’s involved for our happiness and how to achieve a work life balance as well as a better workplace environment. Other events we have held and are holding is things like self-care week, stress awareness, meditation day, play day, walking month, random acts of kindness day, simplicity day, spa week, world chocolate day, etc. We find the varied approach engages more staff to get involved and promotes a better morale/productivity in the workplace as well as having potential HR benefits to the organization with less staff sickness.”
During the International Week of Happiness at Work, she will provide Awareness display boards/emails – good mood collages, Random acts of Kindness, making faces in places (such as happy faced/words cupcakes/food smiley-faced potato cakes etc), inspirational happiness quotes/affirmations and the Action for happiness monthly planner.
We hope to get some pictures after the week.
