Wednesday aka Hump day: the middle of the week. It's not viewed as a jarring and unpleasant as Monday, and not as popular as Friday. Before starting MoodConnect, when I still worked in an office, I remember thinking that if I could just get through Wednesday without too much work-related stress, then I would be good for the rest of the week. One of the reasons why I started my company in 2020 was because I really believed that I could change how people viewed stress and burnout at work as an inevitable occurrence. I wanted to change how people viewed Wednesday (just to be clear, we're talking the day of the week, not the popular Netflix series.)
In August of this year I had that opportunity; I was messaging an old friend on LinkedIn who is growing a successful business offering tax and financial consulting for small to medium sized businesses. He asked me if there was a way to make his office environment more enjoyable and healthy for his employees while they were at work. Up to that time MoodConnect had worked with remote companies and we were offering our services 100% online. I started listening to what my friend was asking for and I realized that I had a great opportunity to transform how employees view Wednesdays; I would create a wellness event every Wednesday that would bring mental and physical health to employees and that is how our Wellness Wednesday event came to be.
Wellness Wednesday was an intentional way to combat against the mid-week blues, and to offer employees an incentive to come to work in the middle of the week, while boosting health and productivity. I started with two massage therapists, that quickly grew to three therapists, a meditation and yoga teacher and healthy food provided by local businesses in the Phoenix area.
The idea behind bringing in local business owners was to keep the small business ecosystem in contact with employees as their work week was suddenly shifting to a majority of the time being in an office, instead of outside exploring new restaurants,
wellness services and other mental health offerings. I decided that I would remind employees of the wellness that was around them and offer local vendors more work opportunities.
Instantly we could see a change in the company and their employees. They were happy to see us visit and their focus, productivity, and attendance started to improve. Additionally my friend's company has been growing and expanding into other cities in the U.S.
That event, DeStress & Go, got popular very quickly and is now offered to many other businesses throughout the U.S.
Here are a few suggestions that you can try out to bring a little wellness to your Wednesday and redefine how your team sees the dreaded Hump Day.
Offer healthy snacks in the breakroom - Stocking the breakroom with employees favorite snacks is a great way to make sure that your employees aren't struggling with pangs of hunger.
Coordinate with your team to plan fitness activities or healthy activities that allow employees to get outside and away from their desk.
Offer your team a few options for something different and fun that they can look forward to on a Wednesday in the office. Maybe it's something that they can do together or on their own.
Offer your team a little TLC, maybe bring in a healthy snack, or invite a yoga teacher to teach a brief class.
There are so many things that you can do to reduce stress and bring a Wellness Wednesday event to your office. Have a suggestion that wasn't mentioned on this list? I'd love to hear it! Please contact us at info@moodconnect.com Wishing you and your team a healthy and happy holiday and a happy new year!