Many of you will have noticed the posters currently appearing on walls around the building, telling us about 'Five Ways to Wellbeing'.
This is one of the department's latest wellbeing initiatives and follows the poster campaign around the 'Time to Talk' Day on Thursday 6th February. The aim is to help foster the psychological, as well as the physical, well-being of staff here.
The 'Five Ways to Wellbeing' posters carry QR codes. One links to the NHS web page about five steps we can take to improve our mental wellbeing with lots of detailed information and suggestions; the second QR code takes us to the website of mental health organisation MIND, which also offers information about ways to enhance our wellbeing and the reasoning behind them.
The recommendation to 'Be Active' for example is because "Regular physical activity is associated with lower rates of depression and anxiety across all age groups," MIND explains. "Exercise is also essential for slowing age-related cognitive decline and for promoting wellbeing."
Meanwhile, the recommendation to 'Give' is because "Research into actions for promoting happiness has shown that committing an act of kindness once a week over a six-week period is associated with an increase in wellbeing."
Future WellChem events are being organised, including:
- a Women's Health Cafe on 12 May
- a Men's Health Cafe on 18 June (during the national Men's Health Awareness Week)
See the department's Wellbeing pages for details.