Last year, King’s Academy established an Employee Wellness Program in response to the increased stresses on employees during the pandemic. Since then, the program has really grown into its own.
While the wellness program’s first year was characterized by a great deal of surveys and exploration of what employees want and need from a dedicated wellness program — not to mention, helping them ride out the pandemic — this year the program has continued to blossom and grow. It has been successful in providing even more opportunities for the King’s employee community to build social bonds, increase their fitness, and improve their emotional well-being. One of the program’s latest initiatives is Mingle Monday, a monthly event that brings together staff and faculty to participate in fun community-building activities and challenges. The events, organized in cooperation with MedLabs Consultancy Group, the school’s main health partner, take a holistic approach, addressing the program’s three main goals: opportunity, awareness and community.
One Mingle Monday event involved a fitness challenge where employees rowed to raise funds for the school’s General Scholarship Fund. MedLabs pledged to match the accumulated amount of calories burned in dollars and donate the total amount to the fund. At another event to mark World Mental Health Day, employees reflected on their daily stressors in a creative way. A rock-paper-scissors tournament took place at another event where healthy smoothies and snacks were provided to demonstrate easy ways to incorporate healthier eating habits into employees’ day-to-day lives. During a peak in the pandemic that prevented employees from gathering, the wellness program organized a “distanced” activity where they distributed paints and small wooden panels to employees to express themselves on artistically. Together, the panels formed a colorful community mural.
In addition to Mingle Monday, the Employee Wellness Program offers one-on-one coaching, fitness classes, and opportunities for team building and social-emotional learning. It also organizes regular community-wide challenges that aim to introduce employees to a range of healthy habits and tools that they can learn more about, try out for a couple of weeks, and add to their daily routine to improve their overall wellness and lifestyle.
MedLab’s partnership has been a huge help in that regard, according to Employee Wellness Coordinator Noor Dajani, as it provides many incentives such as health-conscious prizes and giveaways, which encourage employees to take part in events and challenges.
“Spreading health awareness is one of MedLab’s core beliefs,” says Zeina Sahyoun, chief marketing officer at MedLabs. “We feel strongly that it is one of our key responsibilities towards the communities we serve. We are thrilled to partner with King’s Academy to promote health and wellbeing among faculty and staff and to see the positive spirit and openness of everyone at the Mingle Monday events.”
Dajani has also been buoyed by the positive feedback from employees. “The feedback has been amazing,” she says. “Some tell me the program has changed their lives. They have used tools such as individual coaching and challenges, and the encouragement of others in the community, to take that first step towards exercising and building new healthy habits and being consistent about them.”
Dajani is always on the lookout for new ways to help employees enhance their health and wellbeing, such as the community-wide biometric screening conducted with the support of the school’s health insurance provider GIG - Jordan, which she hopes will help guide future plans based on information about the community’s general health. “Our Employee Wellness Program has accomplished a lot already,” says Dajani, “but we are just getting warmed up!”