Employee Wellness Week Targets Many Facets of Wellness
St. Lawrence’s first annual Employee Wellness Week was held this past February and saw a high degree of participation by employees of all kinds. Wellness has long been a priority at St. Lawrence, but this year, in the darkest time of year, Human Resources saw a need to schedule a week of programming just for employees. The aim of the week was to promote a sense of belonging at the college and to take the time to thank employees in a new way for all that they do.
Activities scheduled throughout the week had a diversity of themes to interest all personality types. Wellness is multidimensional and dynamic, so one size does not fit all.
In the first half of the week, chair massages and a mindfulness meditation workshop taught by Claudia Delgado targeted physical and emotional wellness, respectively. Less typical in conversations around wellness, perhaps, is financial wellbeing: on the Tuesday, teacher Stéphanie Miersch led a financial seminar for employees.
The activities took a more active and upbeat turn later in the week, with a lunchtime skating event on the Thursday at Université Laval (social wellness) and a Lego building competition on the Friday (intellectual wellness). Not to miss was the Years of Service event, which is held annually to honour employees celebrating a milestone year at the college. This event saw the highest attendance of all – St. Lawrence employees are always keen to celebrate the accomplishments of their colleagues.
A cookbook activity unfolded throughout the whole week, with employees sending in favourite recipes to share. The resulting booklet of 13 recipes will be compiled and distributed among employees in the coming weeks.
There was a lot of positive feedback on the event, with employees expressing interest in a repeat next year. The HR department expressed its hope that this initiative has encouraged employees to take time for themselves and to prioritize their wellbeing.
Thank you to all who participated in Employee Wellness Week! We hope that you’ve experienced a moment of lightness in the dark winter months and that you have enjoyed connecting more with your colleagues.
