Quokka Wellbeing Day

Mental health – and specifically wellbeing – has been at the centre of many conversations recently. Between the stresses and strains of the pandemic and the usual pressure of modern life, many have been struggling.

It’s not just high-profile cases like Simone Biles and Naomi Osaka – 60% of adults said their mental health has suffered in the last year. The Mirror has revealed that the NHS Staff took 5.7 million sick days during the pandemic due to poor mental health. Data shows that 1 in 5 UK adults experienced some kind of depression during the early months of 2021. Despite these shocking statistics showing how common mental health issues are, only 16% believe their place of work supports mental health.

At The Happiness Index, we already have a bunch of strategies in place to support our people’s mental wellbeing. These include continuous listening, regular team check-ins, flexible hours to suit individuals, free access to the mindfulness app Headspace, and CareCoins which allow access to professional help.

We just announced a new benefit – A Workplace Wellbeing Day. On 27th August, all our Quokkas will be downing tools and spending the day focusing on themselves.

What is a Wellbeing Day?

A workplace wellbeing day is a day that your people can take off to do something that takes care of their wellbeing. It’s a day where everyone is trusted to do what they need to do in order to support their mental and physical wellbeing. This is likely to be different for everyone. It’s important to not put too many rules or restrictions on wellbeing days so everyone can take the time to do what they need to do to come back ready for action… Freedom to be Human is our company vision after all!

What Can People do on Their Wellbeing Day?

The list of things that people can do on a wellbeing day is endless. For some people, this might mean spending time in nature, or with their kids. It might mean going for a spa day, or a coffee at a favourite local café.

What is The Impact of a Wellbeing Day?

Wellbeing days give people a chance to reset and recharge. This can have a great impact on team morale, cohesion and employee engagement. Not only this but it can also positively influence productivity.

Why do we Think Our Quokkas Need a Wellbeing Day?

Because our team is so aligned with our mission, it means that people often go above and beyond to make sure things get done. We definitely saw this recently when our whole company pulled together to launch our amazing Neuroscience Upgrade. While we love and appreciate the effort that goes into working at The Happiness Index, we also want to make sure our people look after themselves.

Why Have we Implemented This?

The idea of our Workplace Wellbeing Day is to show how much we care about our Quokkas. It is one of many ways The Happiness Index shows how we care about each other and all Quokkas through our actions. We believe that this Wellbeing Day shows we want to invest in our people as Humans.

We’re really excited to see what our Quokkas get up to on their wellbeing day!