With recent reports sharing that mental health needs of workforce have never been greater and sick days amongst UK workers at an all-time high, it’s imperative that wellbeing remains a priority for businesses in 2024. To help hone your 2024 wellbeing plans, we’re sharing our recommendations for wellbeing workshops that coincide and support key 2024 awareness days.
If you haven’t already, you can download a copy of our 2024 Awareness Day calendar here. Save the calendar to your desktop and scroll down to see our suggested plans month-by-month.
January
Dubbed the ‘most depressing day of the year’ Blue Monday may just be a marketing ploy dreamed up by a holiday company. But there’s no denying January can feel like a struggle and a slog. It’s no surprise then, that productivity plummets in January and we have far less inclination to exercise. These workshops should help put a smile on your face and perk up your productivity.
Doing Dry January? Our Alcohol Awareness and Mindful Drinking workshop will help you manage your consumption mindfully, without feeling deprived.
February
Always the first Thursday of February, Time to Talk day on 1st February aims to be the ‘biggest mental health conversation’. Get your workplace talking about mental health with our workshop, Time to Talk: Cultivating Conversations around Mental Health.
It’s also LGBTQ History Month and Race Equality Week (5-12 February). The perfect excuse to run some of our D&I workshops.
March
International Women’s Day on 8 March gains gravitas every year. Which is encouraging to see (although some people rightly argue the ‘real’ progress comes when we don’t need a dedicated day for ‘women’ at all!) Whatever your stance on IWD, it’s not an event you should miss in your 2024 wellbeing plans. 2024’s theme is ‘inspire inclusion’. We’ll be posting details of our bespoke workshop on this topic soon. In the meantime, see our women’s workshops below.
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World Sleep Day on 15 March is the perfect opportunity to get your staff thinking about sleep. 75% of UK workers report not getting enough sleep, which is hugely problematic as poor sleep contributes to low levels of concentration and mental health. Our Sleep School workshop will teach you techniques and tools to sleep more soundly, even when sleep is limited.
Adequate nutrition can raise productivity levels by 20% and drastically reduce sick days. Help get your staff savvy on all things food during Nutrition and Hydration Week (11 – 16 March).
Neurodiversity Celebration Week (18-24 March) is an opportunity to celebrate and champion your neurodiverse employees. It is estimated that 1 in 7 people (more than 15% of people in the UK) are neurodivergent, yet the majority of businesses fail to create environments and processes where they can thrive. As well as our signature workshop, Celebrating the Superpower of Neurodiversity, we also run dedicated sessions on: Supporting Autistic Employees, Coping Mechanisms for ADHD and Designing an Accessible Recruitment process.
April
April is Stress Awareness Month. With work-related stress levels reportedly increasing even prior to the pandemic, today nearly half (49%) of UK adults admit to feeling stressed five or more days each month. See our suggestions below for some stress-related topics to explore in April.
May
Mental Health Awareness Week is 13-19 May. 2023’s theme was anxiety and we’re eagerly awaiting the announcement of 2024’s theme. Once announced, we’ll be launching a signature mental health workshop on that theme. Watch this space! In the meantime, here are some popular choices favoured by other clients for Mental Health Awareness Week.
21 May marks World Meditation Day. The perfect opportunity for your employees to try some stress-busting mindfulness or breathwork.
June
Pride Month takes place in June every year. Pride is a vibrant and inclusive celebration that honors the LGBTQ+ community, their history, achievements, and ongoing struggle for equality. Our workshop Creating an LGBTQ inclusive workplace will share how to make your workplace a more inclusive and supportive place for LGBTQ communities and individuals.
Men’s Health Week takes place 10-16 June (there’s also Men’s Health Month in November). 79% of men in the UK are currently in employment, yet men are considerably at greater risk of some health issues than women. What’s more – nearly 90% of men don’t seek help unless they have a serious problem. See our Men’s Wellbeing workshops below.
10-16 June is Carer’s Week. 9% of people in the UK are providing unpaid care. It’s all too easy to become exhausted and risk burn-out when juggling work, life and caring responsibilities. Our Wellbeing for Carers Workshop aims to build your capacity to flourish and be the best you can for yourself and those you care for.
Every year on 21 June the world celebrates International Yoga Day. You may have seen the scenes of hundreds of people practicing yoga in New York’s Time Square and in front of the Sydney Opera House. On a slightly smaller scale, many companies mark the day with a yoga class at their office.
July – 2024 (Wellbeing Plans for the 2nd half of the year)
3-9 July is Alcohol Awareness Week. You might wish to run our Alcohol Awareness and Mindful Drinking workshop. Either this week – or during Dry January or Sober October.
August
30 August is Grief Awareness Day. Although universal experiences that will impact us all at some point in our lives, loss and grief are often misunderstood within society, which can leave those who are grieving feeling alone and isolated at a very vulnerable time. Our Grief at Work workshop should help to validate and normalise the spectrum of emotions that occur when someone experiences any form of bereavement. Note there’s also Grief Awareness Week later in the year, 2-8 December.
September
10 September is World Suicide Prevention Day. On average, 12 men take their lives in the UK everyday. This rate is three times higher than it is for women and middle-aged men (aged 45–49) are the age group most at risk. Our Suicide Prevention: A Conversation session takes the form of an informative, informal conversation between two men, both united in the loss of their friend and brother by suicide.
October
October marks the start of a busy couple of months for your 2024 wellbeing plans and awareness days. As mentioned above, October marks Sober October. It’s also Black History Month.
9-15 October is Baby Loss Awareness Week. Many companies book our Pregnancy & Baby Loss at Work Workshop for this week to equip themselves with the knowledge, tools and compassion should they need to support a colleague (or anyone else) who’s suffered a loss.
Work Life Week (7-11 October) is Working Families’ annual campaign to get both employers and employees talking about wellbeing at work and work-life balance. In our Wellbeing for Working Parents workshop, working parents will learn practical, actionable and impactful tools to help navigate their wellbeing and working lives.
World Mental Health Day is 10 October every year. Choose from any of our mental health at work workshops. Or, why not use the day to treat your staff to some relaxing office massage?
World Menopause Day is 18 October each year. 900,000 women in the UK have quit their jobs due to menopause. Yet, a staggering 84% of businesses don’t provide menopause at work training for staff, or 81% have any sort of menopause policy in place. Put your business in the 16% who do train their staff on the menopause with one of our menopause at work workshops.
November
Another busy month in the calendar, November marks Men’s Health Month, with International Men’s Day falling on 19 November. And hence the reason why many men sprout moustaches for ‘Movember’. See our Men’s wellbeing workshops below.
6 November is Stress Awareness Day. Scroll up to our ideas for Stress Awareness Month in April for some stress-busting ideas to mark the day at your workplace.
World Diabetes Day is 14 November. There are currently more than five million people in the UK are living with diabetes – which is an all-time high. Educate your staff to prevent and manage diabetes with our Understanding Diabetes workshop.
Nearly half of employees have financial concerns, causing them to lose an average of six productive work days annually. Talk Money Week (11-17 November) is the ideal time to get your team thinking about their financial wellbeing.
December
With 44% of workers saying winter has a negative effect on their mental wellbeing see our winter workshops to help boost the mood and mental health of your staff over the Winter months.
To find out more about how Stretching the City can support your 2024 wellbeing plans, drop us a line or feel free to give us a call on 0207 1832418.
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