GWS 2015 Healthiness begins at home (and work)

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Two years ago we were asked to supply a question to the Dalai Lama, keynote speaker in the 2013 Global Wellness Summit in India. The question we came up with was: “How do the core values of a business have an influence on the happiness of the people who work there?”

We would be forgiven for thinking that we were a little ahead of our time. At this year’s summit in Mexico, under the theme Building a Well World, one of the main speakers, Ken Pelletier, who is a Clinical Professor of Medicine in California, presented a preview of the results of his study around the impact of staff wellness on productivity.

Within his speech were some persuasive findings: that companies with a developed wellness programme experience increased profitability – and he attributes some of this success to the existence of wellness schemes. The final report, which will be released next month, will make interesting reading, especially for those in the spa business. Inevitably it is an industry that is focussed on the health and wellness of clients: the people who come for massages, treatments, relaxation and pampering. But while the welfare of clients is paramount, the health of the staff is inextricably linked to the health of the business – and that means physical, emotional and mental wellness.

It is a message that has resonance for us at Fashionizer. One of our biggest challenges is balancing the needs of our uniform clients (and managing their expectations)without putting our team under so much  pressure that they feel that everything is drifting out of their control. Sometimes it is the small things that help keep the pressure at bay: the “monthly” tea and cake party to celebrate team member’s birthdays or organising an annual flu jab on the company (yes really!).

As a stress-buster, watching one of Louie Schwartzberg’s Moving Art productions might be a good place to start, but we have had to be content with watching his video from home: we were unable to attend this year’s Global Wellness Summit, so missed out on and witnessing first-hand the calm, relaxing and beautiful images that make up Louie’s work.

But despite having to miss out on the first-hand experience of Pete and Susie Ellis’s energy and the GSW summit, we will definitely be booking our place at the next summit in Tirol, Austria.  But can we put in a small plea to avoid November? It would do wonders for our workplace wellness…

See you all there!

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