Tag: corporate events

In today’s fast-paced corporate world, the focus is increasingly shifting toward employee well-being. The traditional concept of corporate events — conferences, workshops, and team-building activities — has evolved. Companies are now recognizing the importance of incorporating wellness into these events, not only to improve employee health but also to boost productivity, creativity, and overall job satisfaction. Corporate Event Interactive is here to integrate wellness into your next event!

1. Physical Wellness: Energize and Move

A sedentary lifestyle is a common problem in the corporate world, and long hours spent sitting in meetings or at desks can take a toll on employees’ physical health. Incorporating physical wellness activities into corporate events can offer a refreshing break and help employees recharge.

Ideas to consider:

• Stretching or Yoga Sessions: Start the day with a guided group yoga session or a stretching routine to release tension and increase flexibility.
• Walking Meetings: Instead of sitting in a conference room, take the discussion outdoors with a walking meeting. It’s a great way to engage in conversation while boosting circulation.
• Team Sports or Outdoor Activities: If you have access to an outdoor setting, make time to get fresh air. CEI can help you host your own Olympic Games or arrange a scavenger hunt with one of our iQuest programs.

2. Mental Wellness: Promote Relaxation and Focus

Corporate events can be overwhelming and even sometimes stress-inducing. The constant pressure to network, learn, and perform can leave employees mentally drained. To counteract this, it’s essential to build in activities that support mental relaxation and clarity.

Ideas to consider:

• Mindfulness and Meditation: Schedule guided mindfulness or meditation sessions to help employees reset their minds. This practice can reduce stress, improve concentration, and foster a calm atmosphere.
• Relaxing Activities: Gather together and relax with soothing activities. CEI’s Bright Horizons program has your team all work together on painting a mural for a local school, healthcare facility, or shelter.
• Giving Back: Studies have shown that finding ways to give back to the community is a great way to boost mental health. Check out CEI’s One Team: Chemo Care Kits that show a little love to people undergoing chemotherapy.

3. Nutritional Wellness: Fueling the Body Right

The food and beverage offerings at corporate events can play a pivotal role in supporting wellness. Instead of relying on processed snacks and sugary treats, incorporate healthier options that nourish and energize attendees.

Ideas to consider:

• Healthy Snack Stations: Set up stations with fresh fruits, nuts, granola bars, and smoothies. These options will give attendees the energy boost they need without the sugar crash.
• Nutritional Workshops or Cooking Classes: Organize interactive workshops where employees can learn about healthy eating habits or participate in a cooking class to create nutritious meals together. Make it a competition where teams make their very own Food Truck.

4. Social Wellness: Foster Connection and Team Building

Building strong relationships among employees is a key component of workplace wellness. Corporate events provide a great opportunity to foster social wellness by encouraging meaningful connections.

Ideas to consider:

• Wellness Challenges: Incorporate team challenges that promote both wellness and collaboration. This could include step challenges, hydration challenges, or fitness goals.
• Group Volunteer Opportunities: Let CEI organize your next Community Clean-Up day. Giving back to a cause can be a meaningful way to bond with colleagues while also benefiting others.
• Social Events with a Wellness Focus: Host social gatherings with wellness themes, such as hitting the greens (of your very own making) with Putt Putt Engineering.

The Benefits of Wellness in Corporate Events

By integrating wellness into your corporate events, you’re not only helping employees improve their overall health, but you’re also fostering a culture of care and empathy. Here are some key benefits:

• Increased Productivity: Wellness activities can improve focus, reduce burnout, and ultimately boost work output.
• Enhanced Creativity: When employees are mentally and physically refreshed, they’re better able to think outside the box and come up with innovative ideas.
• Improved Employee Engagement and Retention: Demonstrating a commitment to employee well-being strengthens loyalty and morale, leading to higher retention rates.
• Positive Company Culture: A wellness-oriented corporate event cultivates a supportive, inclusive, and healthy environment for all employees.

Conclusion

Incorporating wellness into corporate events is more than just a trend — it’s a commitment to fostering a healthier, more productive, and happier workforce. From physical activities and mental relaxation techniques to healthy food choices and team-building experiences, there are countless ways to enhance the well-being of your employees during events. By prioritizing wellness, companies not only create a positive event experience but also lay the foundation for a more vibrant and successful workplace culture. Contact Corporate Event Interactive to find out how we can bring wellness to your next corporate event today.

“Success in a hybrid work environment requires employers to move beyond viewing remote or hybrid environments as a temporary or short-term strategy and to treat it as an opportunity.”

– George Penn, Managing Vice President, Gartner

As companies try to bring more of the workforce back into the office, they are being confronted with differing hybrid vs full return to office models and reports from the experts, not to mention employees who are reporting higher levels of stress and varying rates of engagement. There’s no doubt that the effects of the pandemic and how it shifted societal views are being felt the world over. Now the question is becoming “Can we return to the way things used to be?” Or rather, “Should we be trying to?”

In June, Gallup released its State of the Global Workplace report, which states that 44% of the 122,000 employees it surveyed felt “a lot of” stress. These feelings of stress led to 51% of employees actively or passively looking for a new job. That rate of turnover is extremely detrimental to a company on every front. Between the hours needed to onboard new team members and the culture shift that happens with each new departure/arrival, progress and efficiency slow, which only leads to a rise in stress and frustrations.

So what should employers do? Will a sweeping return to office mandate help? Well, not necessarily. Gallup also reports that feeling disengaged has 3.8 times the influence on stress-levels as opposed to work location. It’s less about whether or not an employee is in office versus remote, and more about them feeling adequately utilized and properly cared for as an individual. In fact, when asking the “Quiet Quitters” of the survey, 41% say they would make their current company better with engagement and company culture, especially as it relates to recognition, opportunities to learn, fairer treatment, and clearer goals.

Now, this all should be viewed as an opportunity. An opportunity to reset. An opportunity to meet your employees where they are. Take the time to understand what their personal and professional goals are, help them connect with their colleagues, and have meaningful interactions with them on a regular basis. Otherwise you risk an increase in burnout and active disengagement. Here’s a few easy ways to go about making those meaningful connections.

1. Have weekly meetings with your employees

Nothing helps build an IRL connection like meaningful conversations. Whether they’re just a weekly check-in or an in-depth progress report, it’s important to make sure you have an understanding of how your employees are doing, beyond simply what they’re doing. Do they want an opportunity to grow in their career? Are they overwhelmed by a certain project? These meetings should be a process of making your employees feel both seen and heard. Find ways that you can help them take that next step in life.

2. Host a networking or team building event with a twist — in-person or remote 

Think outside the wine mixer. The goal of networking and team building events is to make sure that people are fostering new connections in the workplace. CEI has loads of different ideas from game shows to casino nights to charitable events that will bring your whole team closer together and maximize their networking potential.

3. Be mindful of your remote employees

Make sure that every team member feels like they’re a part of the larger community. It is easier to have pop-in conversations when everyone is in the same building, but don’t neglect the talent that chooses to work from home. Make time for them, and actively seek out their input. Have a hybrid event coming up? Try to make it so that remote employees can still connect with their in-person cohorts.

Conclusion

The world has been forced to change a lot over the past few years. Every market and every industry is being presented with these changes. Don’t fear them. Accept these changes for the opportunities that they are. Opportunities to reconnect in new ways, and to build something brand new.