May’s Mental Health Rundown

This month, we celebrated Mental Health Awareness Week, a pivotal event that we believe should be highlighted on everyone’s calendar. This year’s theme was “Movement: Moving More for Our Mental Health.” With this in mind, we organised a variety of activities designed to promote both physical and mental well-being. Here’s a look back at the exciting and invigorating week we had!

During the week we were greeted with a surprise team-building day organized by Holli, which had been kept under wraps until the very last moment. To our delight, we discovered that we would be learning to play the steel drums with the incredible Francis leading the session. The setup included two bass drums, two tenors, three altos, and a number of sopranos. Everyone had the opportunity to choose their instrument:

• Levi and Claire on bass
• Josh and Tommy on tenors
• Mark, Sam, and John on altos
• The rest of us on sopranos

We began with the basics, learning the best techniques and familiarising ourselves with the different notes. Due to a sudden rain shower, we moved under the warehouse and continued crafting our musical masterpiece. Using fun rhythms like “Fish, and Chips,” “I like chocolate,” and “Coffee, and Tea,” we managed to sync up and create a harmonious tune.

You can watch our performance on our LinkedIn page here  – it’s definitely worth a view! A huge thanks to Francis for an unforgettable session. You can find him on LinkedIn (Steeldrumbands) and Instagram (@sdb_worldwide). The day was perfectly capped off with a delicious street food curry from GKitchen.

Something else we did during the week, which our awesome Mental Health Champion, Rachael, organised, was a scavenger hunt. We were split into teams and given a list of items to find around the office and warehouse within 5 minutes. The first team to find all items, or the team with the most items after 5 minutes, would be declared the winner. It was a fast-paced and exhilarating event! Magda and Claire emerged victorious, having found everything just before the timer ran out.

Also, to keep us moving throughout the week, we also incorporated walking meetings. These meetings allowed us to stretch our legs and get some fresh air while discussing agenda items. It was a refreshing change from the usual meeting room setting and added a boost to our overall productivity and mood.

Mental Health Awareness Week was a fantastic success, filled with movement, fun, and bonding. We’re grateful for everyone who participated and made it a memorable experience. Stay tuned for more events and activities as we continue to prioritise mental health and well-being in our workplace!