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How to Make International Day of Happiness Impactful at Your Workplace

20th March is International Day of Happiness, it’s a global event organised by the United Nations to promote that “feeling happy” is an emotion which is a global human right.

The idea of having a specific date to celebrate the emotion of happiness is still relatively a new concept. The first International Day of Happiness was held on 20 March 2013, following several years of campaigning by a United Nations adviser.

Keep Calm. Stay Wise. Be Kind.

The theme for this year’s International Day of Happiness is ‘Keep Calm. Stay Wise. Be Kind’ it’s developed as a response to the Covid-19 pandemic. As we’re all in this ongoing global crisis together, this year’s theme is perfect for businesses to take some time out and find uplifting and positive ways to look after their employees and enable people to look after one another.

Here are ideas to celebrate International Day of Happiness at your workplace…

Take time out for relaxed meditation

Sometimes keeping calm is easier said than done, we recommend HR and business leaders to allow blocking out some time each week so their employees can spend that time either meditating or practicing a wellbeing activity. Here at Virgin Incentives, we have introduced chair yoga, on a weekly basis. Our teams join a virtual class, and a Yoga teacher takes us all through a rewarding Yoga session. This allows all our teams to take some time out of their week to relax and un-wind.

Book an inspirational team experience

Good times are coming, and as we all look forward to the roadmap out of lockdown, we’ve got everything you need for fun, inspirational team building experiences. We’re very much excited that soon we’ll be able to welcome everyone back into real life experiences. With amazing panoramic views, high-speed adventures, champagne dining, boat rides and ultimate thrilling driving track days, and a choice of over 3000 memorable experiences, why not book a team experience and give your colleagues something to really look forward too.

Focus on addressing Mental Health

It’s hard to promote happiness when your employees maybe experiencing depression, anxiety, or another mental condition. Mental illness isn’t something you can just turn off in an instant, so it’s important to connect with your teams and adopt an open door policy where all employees are encouraged and feel comfortable enough to talk about how they are feeling and any concerns. Conversations need to be kept calm, clear and unambiguous – this will help create physiological safety for employees and leaders alike.

Acknowledge and celebrate team wins

You can influence and spread happiness through reward & recognition. Lift your team spirits and congratulate employees when they’ve achieved specific tasks and delivered projects. A high quality reward & recognition programme will help keep people engaged and will contribute towards keeping your best talented people for sticking around longer. 68% of organisations with social recognition report a direct positive on employee retention.

If you’d like to find out how Virgin Incentives can help your employees’ happiness & wellbeing through reward & recognition or through experiences, get in touch today.

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