Following the recent update from Boris Johnson, final Covid-19 restrictions are now expected to ease on 19th July. Some employees may be returning to the workplace after working from home for over a year, while others may be returning from furlough, having not worked at all for over a year.

Employers and managers should be compassionate towards the fact that everyone responds differently to situations like the one we’ve all been thrown in. When everyone has returned to the workplace, you may have a team made up of two extremes – those who are excited for life to return to normal and those who are anxious about being in a large group of people, away from their ‘safe place’ i.e. their home.

However, whether employees choose to participate or just spectate, team activities can be a great way to reunite your workforce and bring people together.

Hosting a company sports day

Sports can be a powerful way of connecting people and crossing social barriers and the workplace is certainly no exception to this.

Playing team sports can develop many psychosocial connections among work colleagues. Helping to develop inter-group skills that can then be transferred into individual roles in the workplace to encourage teamwork. Team sports can also help to develop healthy relationships between colleagues, crossing department boundaries that are often seen.

Sports are competitive and it can give staff an opportunity to bring that into the workplace, creating a more ambitious and connected environment. Moreover, bringing a bit of fun to work is a great way of bringing everyone together after feeling isolated for so long.

Engaging in sports at work can be the catalyst in giving individuals the confidence to continue exercising outside work or help to create healthier habits. Exercise is a great way to lower disease risk, maintain a healthy weight and boost immune function. You could see more motivated, happier, and healthier people at work as well as reduced absenteeism and increased productivity levels.

Health Promotion Activities

At Healthy Performance we can host a series of fun and engaging onsite wellbeing events to raise awareness of key health issues as part of your wellbeing programme. Not only that, but similarly to a company sports day, these events can encourage your team to work together, build company wide social relationships, reduce anxieties around returning to the workplace and generally boost employee morale.

Our health promotion activities include:

• Reaction wall
• Smoothie bike
• Know your numbers
• Wii fit activities
• Alcohol awareness
• Keepy-uppy challenge
• Massage chair
• Company sports days
• Table tennis

To find out more about how Healthy Performance can bring your team back together in a post-covid world, please contact us via team@healthyperformance.co.uk or by calling 0800 1701777.