THE WATER OF LIFE

Marden based hydration business launches Wellbeing Year for its own staff

Hydration expert, Water Wellpoint, is practicing what it preaches with a year of wellbeing activities.  And the year kicked off with a Wellbeing Week for all its employees at its Marden, Kent HQ in January. 

"Our mission is to motivate staff to understand all aspects of their personal wellbeing," explained Ben McGannan, Managing Director of Water Wellpoint.  "The Wellbeing Week in January marked the launch of our Wellbeing Year and was designed to empower our employees with relevant knowledge about their own wellbeing, while inspiring them to improve their health.  We have employees in their twenties, through to their sixties and 50/50 mix of men and women.  And it was very interesting to see how they all got involved in the week with real enthusiasm."

Central to the company's activities was making access to its own unique interactive health kiosk, the Water Wellpoint, for the 100 employees to manage their own health.  They each voluntarily registered on the Water Wellpoint in order to increase their own awareness of their vital signs and overall health and wellbeing.  Staff were then able to set their own health goals in order to engage with Water Wellpoint's wellness objectives.

The Water Wellpoint allows individuals to self-test themselves at work using six key indicators of their general health. These include weight, hydration quota, body mass index, body fat content, heart rate and blood pressure and all can be measured simply and accurately in around five minutes.

A print-out of results is provided to the individual showing how they compare with accepted medical standards, with the Water Wellpoint offering a quick and easy early-warning system for potential problems, as well as a way for each individual to highlight areas they can work on to improve their personal health and wellbeing. The health kiosk can easily be taken into businesses to help them engage with staff and encourage them to play an active role in their own wellbeing.

 
"Our staff have heard the words 'Water Wellpoint' for several months but have not fully appreciated what affect it can have on them.  The Wellbeing Week enabled us to support the team, helping them to understand all aspects of their personal wellbeing, empowering them with relevant knowledge to improve their wellbeing whilst engaging them in the company's overall wellness goals and objectives" confirms Andrea Ings, HR Manager from Water Wellpoint.

During Water Wellpoint's Wellbeing Week, the emphasis was on choice, providing a different theme each day to allow everyone to take part in something that would help them increase their overall wellbeing. The week began with the Water Wellpoint health check, providing each member of staff with a confidential printout of their vital signs, following which staff were encouraged to set themselves a Personal Wellbeing Challenge.

Other activities through the week included:
• Hydration Day - encouraging staff to drink the recommended amount of water each day
• Water Walkers Day - providing local walking routes and encouraging staff to walk during their lunch break
• Relaxation Day - the meeting room was used to provide aromatherapy massage or reflexology. Staff could check their blood pressure before and after to monitor the effect of relaxation.
• Healthy Eating and Water Light Day - staff were given a healthy breakfast bar, including a copy of the recipe. Fruit and healthy lunch options were available and Water Light was launched for staff.

"Our Wellbeing Week has kick-started a long-term health awareness initiative, helping us work with our staff to identify problems and address them before they become issues" continued Ben McGannan. "By giving our employees the opportunity to self-test, they can see the results instantly and begin taking positive steps to improve their health and their working environment.

"Nobody wants to be sick or under the weather, so by giving our staff the opportunity to take control of their health we benefit from a happier, healthier workforce. As a business, this means we gain greater productivity, raise staff morale and reduce costs associated with staff absence, recruitment and health insurance.

"It is clear from this Wellbeing Week, that the Water Wellpoint can help businesses track the progress of employee health and make positive changes to increase wellness in the workplace."

 Wellpoint is a registered trademark solely owned by the Wellpoint Group Limited

For further information or pictures from the Water Wellpoint Wellbeing Week, please contact the Water Wellpoint Press Office at HSL:
Maddy Roles/Louise Fowler/Wendy Harrison - 020 8977 9132
maddy@harrisonsadler.com