Is your company having the wellbeing in the workplace conversation?
According to the WHO, depression and anxiety disorders have a significant economic impact, with an estimated cost to the global economy of US$1 trillion per year in lost productivity and low attendance rates.
Unwell people can just not get out of bed and come to work.
Workplace wellbeing in South Africa is further impacted by our high levels of crime, unemployment, and retrenchment. Recently, this stress on mental health has been magnified by the consistent threat of power outages across the country. When we are operating in the Flight/Fright nervous system we are unable to produce our best work.
The wellbeing of your team is a key factor in determining a company’s daily efficiency. Despite this, as a wellbeing consultant I’ve found many CEO’s and Executives doubt the impact of what I do. I often find myself needing to convince leadership of the value gained through investing in their people – any company’s most important resource.
It was entirely different with the CEO of Oryx Desert Salt. Samantha Skyring is a force to be reckoned with, and she is passionate about making sure her team have the tools they need to embody their fullest health.
Samantha clicks her fingers to manifest magic, makes direct eye contact to deal with conflict and practices what she preaches when it comes to vision work. Swift and sprite-like in her actions she intentioned and designed a beautiful day of healing and growth for her team, which I helped bring into reality.
In the past years, Oryx Desert Salt has implemented a diverse range of wellbeing solutions, assisting with both the physical and mental health of their employees.
This is a brand that understands it is in a company’s best interests to nurture healthy employees. The healthier and happier a team is, the greater their engagement and delivery in the workplace. The more you invest in your staff’s wellbeing the more you will see the wellbeing of the company escalate. This trend is already taking hold in many global companies who are incorporating 4 day weeks as well as daily mindfulness practices. What have you got in place to assure wellbeing in your environment?
Built on Samantha’s vision, Oryx Desert Salt is going global as the world’s purest salt. To honor this bold achievement, their wellness day was centered on the question: how can I inspire this team towards self-mastery?
Our day of nourishing workplace wellness included a plant-based lunch, breathing exercises, visioning, journaling, going over The Four Agreements of Don Miguel Ruiz, grounding, and playful experience of planting food boxes and always, my favorite ingredient – gratitude.
I pride myself on handcrafting workshops to meet the directive of each unique company. Asking pertinent questions and doing a thorough needs analysis before designing a leaning intervention is key to the sustainability of the intervention.
In 2022, I worked with Oryx Desert Salt as an inspiration facilitator and we investigated Breath: to support our nervous system, decrease stress and increase energy.
This year, we revised Breath to cultivate a culture of stillness and focus. Recent studies show that taking time to pause stabilizes the cardiovascular system and drops us into deep modes of attention. This is exactly what warehouse staff need to get the job done – better support for their full presence and attentive focus.
Centre to our circle this year was my brand mandala with various items symbolizing our key learning areas:
· Mandala carpet (with a pinch of Oryx Desert Salt) – Connection with BREATH
· Water (with a pinch of Oryx Desert Salt) – Ceremony to lock in new HABITS.
· Seedlings (with a pinch of Oryx Desert Salt) – Planting our own food for HEALTHY EATING
· Clock – Time slotting and HABIT TRACKING
· Vibrant Pens – Journaling and goal – VISION
· Candle – The Four Agreements – DON MIGUESL RUIZ
We visited breathing techniques as “brain breaks”, sharing ideas on how to get up and going on slow days. Principles of breath don’t cost anything, are easily accessible and the benefits are sustainable and immediate. Learning the basics of diaphragmatic breathing enhances alertness and mood. Gently we breathed into the day.
Each employee was gifted a 2023 journal and asked what they envision for themselves and the company. We apportioned our goals to Body, Mind, Financial, Career, Soul, and Relationships. We discussed how clarity of vision provides a magnet that pulls us towards feeling triumphant, we spoke about the analogy of Oryx growing from a small business to where it is today. What does it take to become world class?
We reflected on what Don Miguel Ruiz says, “doing your best is taking the action because you love it, not because you’re expecting a reward”. The discussion around jumping up and out of bed in the morning with a gleeful shout of “I am going to work” was received with many a chuckle.
The highlight of the day was our earthy experience of planting food boxes. Oryx gifted each team member with a planter box to take home. With my background in permaculture, I felt super skilled to facilitate this session. Deliberately choosing specific plants to symbolize and consolidate the concepts shared through the day, it provided a magnificent space to share another of Don Miguel Ruiz’s quotes, “the human mind is like fertile ground where seeds are continually being planted.”
Time for a nourishing plant-based lunch was welcomed as an opportunity to share the benefits of healthy eating to maintain a high level of energy. This was followed by a time to dance, Oryx’s signature wellbeing activity.
The afternoon session seemed to move so quickly as we engaged in partner work, discussing the 4 agreements and how we can practically implement each. These are: Be impeccable with your word/ Don’t take anything personally / Don’t make assumptions and always to do your best.
Quickly the day came to an end as we closed with recalibrating the body through a body scan relaxation practice. Enhancing the healing and learning that had taken place for the day by choosing to take responsibility for just one action provided a great way to leave the group with a clear integration goal.
Pondering the 4 agreements, I’d like to share the following with you:
“Action is about living fully. Inaction is the way that we deny life. Inaction is sitting in front of the television every day for years because you are afraid to be alive and to take the risk of expressing what you are. Expressing what you are is taking action.”
Are you joining Oryx in taking action?
How are you investing in your employee’s wellbeing?
Do you plan to join this proudly South African company, Oryx Desert Salt, in fostering thriving workplaces and nourishing thriving teams?
And remember, We are all 1000 seeded sunflowers who have so much to offer this world!
Find out how I can design a wellbeing in the workplace experience for your company.
Visit www.carolsegal.com.
