MARCH was a month of WELLNESS!

Wow, what a month of Wellness for our local community businesses members!

We had the pleasure of helping 187 employees assess their health and wellness by completing personalised scorecards based on the 5 Pillars of Health.

It was an incredible opportunity to educate and raise awareness about how small changes in habits, behaviors, and patterns can lead to big improvements in quality of life (and let’s be honest, who doesn’t want a better quality of life, right?).

The assessments gave us a chance to reflect on whether we’re living a high-firing, energised daily life or just functioning our way through the daily grind. Turns out, a lot of us could use a little more “firing” and a lot less “grind”!

In today’s high-pressure work environment, success is often equated with wealth and status, but true success comes from health, energy, focus, and happiness.

Without prioritising well-being, employees are at risk of burnout, disengagement, and poor performance.

Education on wellness is the catalyst for lasting behavior change—helping employees make healthier choices and build habits that lead to better work-life balance, higher productivity, and overall fulfillment.

Key Insights from Your Wellness Assessments:

Across 7 local businesses, 187 assessments were completed, with an average score of 56%.
This score reveals some important blind spots in employee health, showing areas where we can make real, impactful changes.
Mindfulness was the area where most employees scored the lowest, which means we might need to teach people to “slow down” before their brains turn into a hamster on a wheel.
Remember it’s about the 1%ers.

Actionable Tips for Improving your 5 Pillars of Health...

PILLAR 1: Movement

Importance: Regular movement is essential to keep your body energised and reduce stress. Plus, it helps improve mental clarity and overall well-being.
Tip:
- Aim for 150 minutes of moderate-intensity exercise per week (that’s about 30 minutes, 5 days a week). This can reduce the risk of heart disease by 30%, boost your mood, and even increase life expectancy by 3-7 years.
- Resistance Training: Incorporate 1-2 resistance training sessions per week. Research shows that it can reduce the risk of fall related injuries by 40% whilst also boosting metabolic markers (all the good things that decrease our chances of Chronic disease)

PILLAR 2: Mindfulness

Importance: Mindfulness helps reduce stress, improves focus, and gives you that calm - less reactive feeling – you know, the one where your mind isn’t racing through 15 different things at once.
Tip: Start small: try 2 minutes of mindful breathing each day. Research shows that mindfulness can reduce stress by 30%, improve focus by 40%, and lower anxiety by 50%. So, two minutes a day could be your ticket to a calmer, more focused workday. See video of actionable breathe-work tip:

PILLAR 3: Nutrition

Importance: What you eat affects everything: your energy, mood, productivity, and long-term health. Eating well is a game-changer for both body and mind. As I said to you “What we FUEL our bodies with will drive our performance”
Tip:
- Aim for 5 servings of fruits and vegetables daily. This simple habit can reduce the risk of heart disease by 20% and stroke by 25%.
- Look for 2g of Protein per kg of bodyweight per day (pending activity levels) to help maintain and improve muscle mass and body composition / this will also help with those sweet cravings that can pop pending your daily stress levels…
- Hydration: Start with 2L before 12pm (depending on activity level). Proper hydration can boost cognitive performance by 30%, improve focus, and enhance physical performance by 10-15%.

PILLAR 4: Sleep

Importance: Quality sleep is key for mental clarity, emotional regulation, and physical recovery. Without it, our productivity, mood, and health can take a serious hit.
Tip: Encourage your team to get 7-9 hours of quality sleep each night. Studies show that quality sleep can reduce depression and anxiety by 40%, help with focus, and even improve cognitive function. Think of sleep as your “daily reset” button.

PILLAR 5: Socialisation/Community

Importance: Humans are social creatures (yes, even the introverts). Meaningful connections at work can boost mental health and create a stronger team dynamic.
Tip: Organise group activities or community events to encourage team bonding. Research shows that strong social connections can reduce the risk of early death by 50% and help prevent mental health issues, such as depression and anxiety, which are up to 40% more likely when social isolation sets in.

By focusing on these key pillars, you can help your team shift from merely functioning to truly firing on all cylinders. A little investment in wellness goes a long way in improving both individual health and overall team / business performance.

Businesses who focus on employee wellness can save up to $2,500 per employee annually by reducing absenteeism and presenteeism. Additionally, businesses report up to a 25% reduction in healthcare costs.