Nurturing company well-being in the New Year: Find balance between mental, physical health

MANILA, Philippines — It is every company admin’s responsibility to nurture the general well-being of its employees, especially at this time of the year, when everyone has just emerged from a super busy holiday season, followed immediately by meetings to set new goals and sales targets for the New Year.

This might give rise to heightened stress for the workforce, which is something the admin should guard carefully against, because mental health is as important as physical health. This is important not only in individuals but also in a company set-up. 

According to psychiatrist Dr. Brock Chisholm, who served as the first director-general of the World Health Organization (WHO), “Without mental health, there can be no true physical health.”

Recognizing this intricate interplay between the mental and physical dimensions of well-being, award-winning strategic marketing agency TeamAsia has, through years of experience, worked out how to strike a good balance between mental and physical health and is sharing its tried and tested ways on how to achieve this balance.

 Setting its corporate mind on continuously prioritizing and nurturing the mental health of its employees TeamAsia has adopted the following practices and strategies:

• Work-life harmony. It is an established practice, backed by policy, among TeamAsia employees to set boundaries between work and home and take breaks for their mental and physical health – from something as simple as lunch breaks and time blocks where team members don’t disturb one another, to regularly filing leaves and health checks. 
• Employee-engagement activities. TeamAsia utilizes employee engagement activities, such as the quarterly Town Hall, which provides the latest updates on business goals, as well as other programs or important announcements for the agency; the weekly and monthly Pop-Up, where the team gathers for short updates, quiz and movie nights or virtual escape rooms, to bond and connect; and Jedi Sessions, or teach-back and knowledge-sharing occasions.

There are also regular team get-togethers, such as summer activities; a mid-year break, where the team takes a short breather to catch up on rest and rejuvenate for the next half of the year; and year-end activities such as parties and an agency shutdown. 

• Satisfaction surveys. TeamAsia routinely conducts surveys to check the pulse of its employees and see what type of activity best fits their needs. “Since we’re now in a post-pandemic situation and have transitioned to hybrid setups, we make sure to find environments that meet the demands of our employees and provide the means for our teams to join in,” said TeamAsia Marketing Manager Erika De Leon. “We host online and offline activities, whichever is more accessible to our employees.”
• Open space and buddy system. TeamAsia Senior Human Resources Officer Beverly Aguilar described Open Space Sessions as smaller assemblies that encourage employees to discuss anything outside of work. She said they are essential to cultivating a welcoming atmosphere for every team member, fostering transparency, collaboration, and a sense of inclusivity.

“These sessions are an hour-long, no-agenda and no-fuss time together where everyone is encouraged to speak about what’s on their mind and what’s in their heart in a safe space,” she said. “In tandem with this, we encourage our teams to keep a buddy system so we can check on each other and make sure no one’s being left behind.” 

Quarterly check-ins and mentoring sessions. “We also conduct quarterly check-ins with each employee, catching up on the self, work, and anything that the employee would like to share,” said Aguilar. “We also have open and easy access to our mental health consulting partners, GrayMatters Psychological and Consultancy Inc. and COMPSYCH, which provide quality mental health care services based on ethically sound and value-based practice in various disciplines of psychology.”

• TRE sessions. Other wellness sessions include the Trauma and Tension Release Exercises or TRE sessions led by TeamAsia Managing Director Bea Lim, who has been certified to conduct these, both online and onsite. These can be in the form of yoga sessions, breathing exercises, and the like.  

“We believe in the saying, ‘You can’t pour from an empty cup,’” said De Leon. “In the transition from face-to-face to remote work during the pandemic, and now easing into a hybrid setup, the company has consistently rolled out programs and looked out for the team’s mental health, proving that our employees are our most important secret sauce in our company, so it’s crucial for us that their overall well-being is maintained.”

Prioritizing employee well-being in the workplace is an imperative that TeamAsia, as an organization, has taken upon itself. By placing a premium on the mental and physical health of its team members, the company not only cultivates a positive and supportive work environment but also recognizes the intrinsic link between a thriving workforce and organizational success.

Now that a new year has started, the investment in employee well-being stands as a testament to its dedication to creating a gender inclusive workspace where individuals flourish, driving collective success and resilience in an ever-evolving professional landscape.