Banishing the Monday Blues
20 Jan 2020
Introducing Brightwater engagement with the IBEC KeepWell Mark!
At Brightwater, we love all things blue. Outstanding employees are rewarded monthly Blue Ribbons. Charity runs are led by bodies of azure clad teams. The one blue we fail to lean into however, happens to fall every year on the third Monday of January; Blue Monday.
Blue Monday is said to be the most depressing and least inspiring day of the year based on the combination of a range of dispiriting factors triggered by the post-Christmas come down. Failure to upkeep New Year’s resolutions, holiday debt, bad weather and general diminished motivation are all but a few of the reasons behind the weighted grip that Blue Monday can unfortunately reign.
We encourage the adoption of an active and healthy lifestyle year-round to best fuel morale, cognitive function and productivity. However, we recognise the particular importance of supporting a robust approach towards depression and diminished morale during periods where disengagement is prevalent.
And conveniently for all three of our offices, a New Year and new decade all round marks an important and exciting time for the Brightwater team in their steps towards a happier, healthier and more inclusive work environment. Having carefully addressed and assessed the common needs and requirements of our average employee in the modern workplace, we have taken it upon ourselves to engage with IBECs new workplace wellbeing initiative, the KeepWell mark!
The KeepWell mark is an evidence-based accreditation that seeks to recognise and celebrate organisations centred on putting the wellbeing of employees at the forefront of company policy. Spread across seven pillars spanning from healthy eating to physical activity to health and safety, the project aims to develop plans and strategies to support long-term employee engagement.
Having looked objectively at the contribution and weight of all the relevant factors and causal circumstances that fuel the perceptions associated with Blue Monday, we took it upon ourselves to help abate any surmounting feelings of woe or worry with some Yogic breathwork! This afternoon saw a group of centred and invigorated Brightwater team members gather for a 60-minute session of mindful yoga in the Collective Cork! Mindful yoga is a restorative practice that focuses on controlled breathing techniques that cultivate stillness and quiet the mind. Needless to say that afterwards, ours was potentially the most calm office in Cork!
Our Dublin office stretch and strengthen in group sessions of Reformer Pilates in the Grattan Street studio of Form School Reformer Pilates! Reformer Pilates combines full range motion exercises to help increase flexibility whilst building strength. Increased flexibility, elongated muscles and improved postures? We’ll take it!
It was a wonderful afternoon that marks the next exciting steps towards our commitment to continuing to support the mental and physical wellbeing of our Brightwater tribe. As for the rest of the KeepWell mark, full steam ahead!