Colleague wellbeing was put firmly at the centre of the agenda with a series of events during September.

The UM Wellbeing Month included a busy schedule of presentations focusing on different ways to enhance both physical and mental wellness.

The Wellbeing Month followed UM Group’s hugely successful Great Molasses Challenge earlier in the year which raised over £33,000 for the charity Farm Africa.

The money was raised thanks to colleagues running, walking, playing football, cycling, rowing, swimming and going on dog walks, all with the aim of clocking up as many miles as possible.

The dedicated Wellbeing Month saw a range of expert speakers invited to present to everyone within the UM Group on a variety of wellbeing themed topics in Teams presentations.

The sessions, which were well attended, included two sessions of ‘Optimising the Performance of the Human Mind’, delivered at the start and end of the month by Chimp Management, the organisation founded by Professor Steve Peters, author of the bestselling personal development book The Chimp Paradox and who is best known for his work with sporting legends such as Olympic cycling champion Sir Chris Hoy and the snooker star Ronnie O’Sullivan.

The session provided attendees with valuable insights into the functioning of the mind, along with practical tips for effectively managing thoughts, emotions and behaviours.

Four sessions were run by Phill Ireland of Ireland Fitness, two entitled ‘Lifestyle Improvements for Everyone – Breathwork’ and two looking at ‘Lifestyle Improvements for Everyone – Getting Better Sleep’.

Phill is a former English Thai-boxing champion and a six times World stick-fighting champion. He’s also completed many mountain marathons and ultra marathons as well as ironman triathlons and enjoys pushing his mind and body to find out what is possible.

About 10 years ago Phill went through a cancer related family tragedy and this shifted his focus more onto fitness to health and wellbeing and Covid-19 gave his drive a further boost as health for those around him became a bigger concern for so many people.

A further workshop was led by Loveday Wellbeing entitled ‘Attitude of Gratitude’ which examined how gratitude is one of the most simplistic yet impactful qualities when counteracting stress, fear and other unhelpful emotions. Loveday also provided a presentation ‘How to detach from a Digital World’, looking at how to take a mindful approach and maintain healthy use.

The presentations from the various external providers were supported by a presentation by UM Group’s HR Manager Vicki Brough in which she shared with colleagues information regarding the Group’s Employee Benefits and Employee Assistance Programme.

A big thanks is due to the UM Group Charity and Wellbeing Team (Simon Markham, Mark Few, Nigel Jones, Louisa Brown and Geraldine Carroll) which helped make the Wellbeing Month such a success and encouraged as many colleagues as possible across our various locations to get involved. Many of the presentations were subsequently made available to colleagues who couldn’t attend due to work commitments or holidays.

Louisa Brown commented: “For me, the Wellbeing Month was a little reminder about our health and wellness, reminding you to think about why your health matters and push you in the right direction to be healthier or make small changes in your life.”

Mark Few said: “I am really proud of all the responses we have received from colleagues in the UK and abroad from the wellbeing presentations and workshops we ran through September and how we seem to have made a positive difference to the daily routines of some of our UM colleagues.

“I in particularly enjoyed the getting better sleep presentation and have now introduced some of the strategies discussed to my evening routine including drinking less caffeine and, so far, I am sleeping longer and waking up feeling more rested and refreshed!”

Zinnia De Wilde of UM Tameco – Zeebrugge said: “I wanted to let you know that I found Wellbeing Month a nice initiative.

“I’m convinced that the professional world is slowly but steadily moving in the direction to put the wellbeing of people more central and for everyone to take responsibility for their own behaviours. Together we are one, and with respect and equality for everyone we can achieve a lot together.”

Laurianne Wilson, Managing Director of Andean Life, said: “Thank you for organising the presentation on Gratitude. It was such a great presentation and so interesting and not so difficult to implement!”

Ben Macer, CEO of UM Group, said: "I am delighted to see the momentum from our hugely successful Great Molasses Challenge continue with Wellbeing Month. I’d like to thank everyone who helped organise the various events and all colleagues who took the time to get involved and who have provided such positive feedback."

We are currently busy planning further charitable and wellbeing activities, which we will be sharing news about over the coming weeks. Please keep an eye out for these and other exciting announcements!