May is Mental Health Awareness Month, and Vizo Financial got a jump start on the celebrations with various wellness initiatives and activities for staff throughout the month of April.

Those activities and initiatives included:

• Weekly emails discussing different methods of achieving mental wellness, such as self-care and what that may look like.

• An anonymous survey to help the Corporate gain a better understanding of the invisible disabilities some staff may experience.

• A collection of online learning courses to address employee wellness and strive for mental health around the workplace.

• Articles written by staff on when to reach out for help if mental health becomes an issue.

• Virtual calm room sessions for brief periods of reflection and meditation.

All of these activities culminated in the Corporate’s monthly team building day – called the Food, Unity and Networking (FUN) Day – for April. Staff had the opportunity to participate in two 15-minute walks to promote grounding, as well as mindfulness and yoga movement sessions led by a 500-hour RYT (registered yoga teacher), and enjoy a health-conscious lunch.

“When it comes to mental health and wellness, the best way to get started is to form good habits and keep the momentum going,” said Erin Doan, diversity, equity and inclusion director for Vizo Financial. “Our goal was to introduce some ideas to help staff start building those habits now so that they can apply them to their daily lives – whether it’s Mental Health Awareness Month or not – and really ingrain those advantageous practices within themselves for a lifelong commitment to mental wellbeing.”

As an added incentive to join in the activities, staff who completed a number of the monthly activities could be entered into a drawing for a spa or wellness center gift card.

“When we think of health, we tend to immediately think of physical health, and not necessarily mental health, or even health in the workplace,” said Anita-Louise Fonner, senior implementation coordinator for Vizo Financial and mental health advocate. “As we prepared to celebrate Mental Health and Wellness Awareness Month in May, we wanted to give staff the chance to engage in wellness activities to help relieve stress, improve mood and increase energy and mental alertness for an overall healthier lifestyle both in our personal and professional lives.”

Vizo Financial continues to prioritize the health and wellness of staff during Mental Health and Wellness Awareness Month, and every day of the year.