The I.T. team and hairyLemon recently joined forces to spread the word about Wellness throughout the two companies. (Since we are all breathing the same air, it kinda makes sense!)

Last month we hopped on board with Junk Free June, making a number of changes throughout the office to encourage healthier choices.

That included swapping out our breakfast cereals for lower-sugar options (porridge has been especially popular!), removing fizzy drinks from sight while offering healthier alternatives, and upping the supply of fruit and veges for staff to snack on. A little education went a long way on the breakfast cereal front – we did some research to see how many spoons of sugar were in a serving of cereal and created some visual aids for people to see what they were eating!

We also held a “junk free” pot luck morning tea, where staff were encouraged to bring in a healthy snack to share along with copies of the recipe to share.

At the beginning of the month we surveyed staff across both companies, asking about their kitchen/meal/beverage preferences, which helped shape the changes we put in place during June.

We also sent a follow-up survey around as the month was wrapping up – it was great to get the feedback on what worked and what didn’t so we can continue to make improvements each month.

We had some really positive feedback about the removal of foods and drinks with high sugar content, with the majority of people wanting to keep the healthy options available.

Over half of the respondents thought that consuming the healthier options had a positive effect on how they were feeling, which is great!

Overall the staff in both companies were really happy about the changes, and what we are trying to do.

Next month’s focus will be on encouraging higher activity levels and awareness on the recommended levels of activity for good health and wellbeing, with a challenge or two thrown in for the more competitive members of the team. Hopefully the winter weather won’t prove to be too much of an obstacle, or else we might be turning the hallways into a fitness track!