Between 12th – 18th May 2025 it’s Mental Health Awareness Week but what are you doing to harness the opportunity to highlight mindfulness and promote your team’s physical, mental and social wellbeing?
Wellness is the word of every event planner’s lips in 2025 and for good reason. Did you know that studies have been conducted to demonstrate the benefits of wellbeing programs and events and there’s a reason why businesses are making it a priority? A survey by Gallup showed that 61% of employees see well-being benefits as a key factor in their decision to stay with their current employer.
Internal events are an excellent way for businesses to reach wellness goals as they take on a holistic approach to improve physical, mental and social wellbeing. You can also use events and away days to create community in the workplace, which is the theme for Mental Health Awareness Week this year.
Our event management experts provide you with trending ideas for promoting mental health in the workplace, including activities you can introduce to your team during Mental Health Awareness Week.
Whether your team are in the office that week, working from home or you are looking to plan a company event we have inclusive well-being activities that fit all employees’ situations, ages and abilities.
1. Win at Wellness as a Team
New from Eventurous this year, Win at Wellness is an app-based team building activity that is easy to integrate into the working week or your conference agenda. It can run over a week or for a couple of hours, depending on how and where you want to use it.
Win at Wellness asks employees or delegates to take on a variety of feel-good challenges that encourage social interaction, giving back to the community, acts of kindness, light activity and movement, learning new skills and practising mindfulness.
Promote communication amongst participants and share words of motivation and affirmation with colleagues in our live chat room. Inject some healthy competition by rewarding points with prizes and keeping score with our live leader board. Capture memories of all the positive outcomes and fun along the way with our video and photo challenges and increase returns when you use the content as post-event marketing to attract top talent and showcase your positive company culture.
2. Plan a Corporate Wellness Festival
Company Festivals are an idyllic set-up for getting super creative with well-being features and activities. Firstly, you can opt for venues that offer built-in wellness facilities such as a Spa, gym, Golf course or cycling trails or you can choose a marquee or tipi venue that sits in the heart of the countryside with peaceful and serene surroundings that complement your festival theme. When it comes to planning the ultimate corporate festival experience with a well-being twist there are so many outdoor venue options to choose from. Next, you could consider transforming your space into a tranquil paradise with wellness theming and décor. Focus on a neutral colour palette or utilise the neutral base of a tipi like Sheepy Meadows and introduce swooping drapes, boho accessories, soft furnishings, and botanical items such as flowers and foliage along with some motivational signage.
Enhance the theme with catering that fits in line with this natural, refreshing vibe – smoothy stations and vegan street food are great options. When choosing which activities to include in your festival lineup, consider being inclusive and having something for all. Get to know your delegates and their needs to discover what wellness activities will be of true value to them. Create quiet spaces in your venue for Neurodivergent attendees to take some time away from the hustle and bustle of the day and separate ones for workshops for activities such as yoga, meditation or breathwork. Consider other larger outdoor areas for more physical and social group team building activities such as the Crystal Challenge or It’s a Knockout.
3. Gratitude Boarding in the Office
We are all hearing about the power of gratitude, whether it be from wellness coaches and therapists on social media discussing the importance of journaling or daily affirmations or we read about it in one of the many self-help books on the market. But what is Gratitude? Gratitude is to be appreciative of what you have in that moment which experts believe can lead to increased happiness and more fulfilling relationships. To practice it means to re-enforce it regularly whether that’s daily, weekly or monthly, it is believed to regulate your emotions and provide more life satisfaction.
So how can you bring this mindful practice into the workplace? Ask your team to share what they are grateful for, whether it’s on the office notice board or in a remote group chat. This can not only lift the individual’s spirits but other team member’s too as it can be a boost for them should their colleagues be grateful for something they’ve done. Sharing in a group setting can also offer a new and broad range of perspectives on things to be grateful for.
4. Meditation Workshop
Meditation can feel intimidating to those who have never tried it, so incorporating it as a workshop at your next company event, conference or even in the office during Mental Health Awareness Week can really help take the pressure off trying it alone. Meditation comes in many fun and interesting forms including Gong Mediation which is a popular choice for corporate festivals, conferences and away days, particularly for those who have a heavy night planned the night before or an intense day of meetings and a little recharge is required. Meditation helps employees to release any worries, whether they are personal, or work-related and aids better sleep. 86% of people who have practised meditation say it helped them feel better emotionally.
5. Learn Desk Stretches
If your team are in sedentary jobs where they are required to sit down for most of their working day, the risk to their health is greater in terms of aches and pains, eyesight issues, chronic pain and can even cause things such as poor posture and repetitive strain injuries. Learning simple daily stretches is a way of combatting some minor discomforts that can lead to bigger problems later on. Stretching is also known to improve sleep quality, reduce stress and anxiety and improve posture. You can teach your team desk stretches simply by logging into YouTube and finding a credible fitness coach video. Healthcare professionals such as AXA Health offer blogs with step-by-step guides on desk stretching, just be sure to select ones from credible well-known sources as the last thing you want to do is cause injury.
6. Escape to Nature with Country Pursuits
Two ingredients for wellness are green spaces AKA countryside and physical activity. Country Pursuits is a fun outdoor team building event that is the perfect combination of both if held in a traditional countryside venue surrounded by nature.
A study by the UK Government states that a whopping ‘94% of adults who had visited a green and natural space in the previous 14 days agreed that spending time outdoors was good for their mental and physical health.’
Make your trip outdoors more entertaining, competitive and interactive with Axe Throwing, Riffle Shooting and Clay Pigeon Shooting, blow off stress and steam with some thrilling motorsports or spend some wholesome time with animals with Duck Herding or Falconry.
It is vital that UK businesses utilise the summer months to expose teams to new environments, outside space and time in the sunlight to boost mood and improve mindset as it is estimated that 1 in 5 Britons suffer from seasonal depression according to the NHS.
Speak to a leading team building company such as Eventurous, who can also find you a local countryside venue to host your event.
7. Nutrition Classes for People and Planet
Provide your team of employees with the tools to make informed decisions about their well-being and that of their loved ones back home. A common wellness in the workplace activity is educational cooking lessons from a trained nutritionist. Depending on your objectives, budget, space and time you can achieve a variety of outcomes. It can be as simple as education around healthy recipes, or you can make it a sustainable cooking workshop and teach your team how to buy ingredients that produce less carbon and work within a set household budget. If you have a smaller budget for your away day activities then you could start with a Vegan tasting session in the office, to encourage more people to try plant-free foods which have benefits for health and the environment.
8. Create Purpose with Volunteering
Consider offering your team a community day to encourage collaborative work for a good cause and to create purpose and meaning within the team. Community days are great for allowing your employees to take time away from work to engage in feel-good activities and give something back to the local community, whether it’s through a litter pick or helping out at a shelter or food bank.
How to go about volunteering?
- Reach out to local Facebook community pages and ask about any arranged volunteering initiatives such as litter picks
- Search online platforms such as getvolunteering.com to find local requests for help
- Offer to work for free at a local community or charity event. This helps keep costs down and allows for more funds raised to go to the charity or cause related to the event
- Volunteering has additional benefits for employees besides feeling good about their achievements. It can improve their employability and help them develop valuable social and communication skills as they are given the opportunity to work with people from all walks of life.
9. Build For Charity
Put your team’s creative juices to the test and bring people together to put their hands to something tangible and heartwarming. Build something for someone who will really appreciate it, with the Eventurous Build for Charity team building activity.
In teams, communicate and build a bicycle, skateboard or wheelchair and see the difference your team can make to someone’s life. Team building events for charity are great for companies that want to do more in terms of their environment, social and governance goals, with professionally run formats aimed at developing teams you are guaranteed to come away with value from both the perspective of upskilling your employees and improving your CSR initiatives.
Charity team building activities are ideal to document your company efforts. This practical and interesting format generates eye-catching images and video content that can be used to tell a story about your brand and culture.
10. Hold a Charity Golf Event with A Twist
Charity golf events have been popular for many years but are not all that inclusive. Golf is a difficult and technical sport and appeals to a predominantly male-dominated audience so it can be intimidating for the rest of the team who have never had experience in it. Whilst charity golf days have their place and are great for getting Senior Management to dig deep for a good cause, Eventurous brings to you an inclusive and fun alternative with their Fairway to Foodbank team building activity.
Fairway to Foodbank allows teams to go head-to-head to design and build their own 3-meter mini golf hole using non-perishable foods and toiletries alongside golfing accessories such as giant hoops, ramps and obstacles. Teams will then come together to play a fun and competitive round of mini golf across the entire course before food and toiletry items are donated to their local food bank. Medals are awarded to the teams who show the most creativity when building their hole and of course, the team who wins the golf round.
11. Spread Happiness with Happy Habitats
Looking for something that develops your team’s business skills whilst giving back and making them feel a sense of achievement? The Happy Habitats team building activity does just that. Imagine channelling your inner Alan Sugar meets Alan Titmarsh…
Happy Habitats is designed to foster collaboration, creativity, and a love for nature! Your teams will work together to support local biodiversity by creating shelters for various wildlife and insects all while engaging in rewarding, fun and educational challenges along the way.
In teams, you will be tasked with designing and building a home for your chosen creature whether it’s a Bird Box, Bat Flat or a Bug Hotel.
Once the build is complete, you must work together as a team using each other’s strengths to compile an impressive marketing and branding plan, aimed at your target creatures. You will then pitch your ideas to our eco-expert panel of judges. Don’t worry no one gets fired but there are medals for the winning team.
12. Knowledge is Power with the Wind Farm Challenge
Mental health isn’t just impacted by a lack of social interaction, health concerns or lack of sunlight, physical activity and access to nature, sometimes it can be caused by a lack of purpose. It is also estimated that a large percentage of Gen Z employees expect employers to have green credentials for them to consider staying in a role or taking a new role.
Help your team find purpose with meaningful team building sessions that have a positive impact not only on them and the business but on the wider planet and future generations. The Wind Farm Challenge by Eventurous is a fun, hands-on and informative sustainable team building challenge that teaches participants about renewable energy and even requires them to build their very own working wind farm – How many people can say they’ve done that?!
13. Be Kind with Compete for Cause
Studies reported by the NHS show that caring for others and participating in acts of kindness improves wellbeing as it brings a sense of joy and accomplishment. When you work alongside others to do something nice for someone in need, it creates a sense of community and improves culture in the workplace.
Take on the Compete for Cause team building activity and engage in challenges working through each game zone to collect points in the short time frame given. Points mean prizes and in this case, it’s prizes for care packages for people in need. Win toiletries, sanitary products, toys, clothing and good for your care packages by completing puzzles, answering questions and showing great teamwork, problem-solving and communication skills.
14. Go Exploring Outdoors on a Team Treasure Hunt
In teams explore the city, discovering landmarks along the way as you search for hotspots using iPads. Take on fun and mind-bending challenges for maximum points before time is up. Work-life balance is hard in the city. More teams are working from home, meaning less time to connect with colleagues. This has an impact on the social, mental and physical wellbeing of employees.
Treasure Hunts get teams outdoors in the fresh air, walking and connecting in the sunshine. Build a sense of community and reinforce a positive company culture by bringing everyone together for the grand finale presentation. Employees will laugh as they look back at the best moments from the day using photos and videos taken in challenges. The Eventurous venue finding team will find a bar or restaurant near you where you can celebrate success at the after-party or if the budget is tight, head back to the office!
You’re Ready to Plan Mental Health Awareness Week in Your Workplace!
So, whatever your plans are for supporting team wellbeing in 2025, we can support you with ideas, planning and execution within your budget.
Speak to our team today on 01827 215 200 or email sales@eventurous.co.uk or submit an enquiry.
