Happy New Year! 2019 is in full swing and we are excited to be working with our member organisations over the next 12 months and beyond, to improve the health and wellbeing of the City's workforce.

 

Aimed at anyone working within a City business with responsibilities for health, wellbeing, HR, facilities or security, this Samaritans-led session provides an opportunity to learn core skills to support someone at crisis point. This Square Mile-specific training is hosted in partnership with the City of London Police and Franklin Templeton Investments. More information and bookings here.

Despite menopause affecting half of the population at some point in their lives, it is still a taboo subject and not widely incorporated into organisations' health and wellbeing approaches. This means that female employees experiencing menopausal symptoms often feel marginalised and misunderstood and this can have a large knock-on impact on their mental and physical wellbeing, as well as their colleagues'. Led by City-based GP Dr Theodora Kalentzis, in partnership with UBS. More details to come soon.

Back for National Walking Month 2019, in partnership with national walking charity Living Streets, this month-long initiative engages hundreds of City workers across many different organisations, encouraging them to compete against each other in teams and earn points for their physical activity.

The 2018 Challenge was sponsored by Nomura and the Cheapside Business Alliance and supported by Public Health England London:
- 74% of participants said that the Challenge encouraged them to be more physically active;
- Three months after the end of the Challenge, 42% of participants reported maintaining the same level of physical activity as they had during the Challenge;
- 70% of participants said that the Challenge had either been "very" or "somewhat" beneficial to their wellbeing.

The Challenge has also shown to encourage team-work and engagement between colleagues and active travel, as well as support fitness-building and weight-loss.

If your organisation is interested in taking part in 2019, or in sponsorship opportunities, please get in touch here. 

While many of the City's 483,000 workers are employed in well-paid, desk-based jobs, there is also the often "hidden", but equally vital workforce - those in low-paid, manual, roles, such as security, cleaning, catering and retail. These workers often face their own set of challenges when looking after and accessing support for their health and wellbeing. This event is hosted at City Hall, in partnership with the GLA and is aimed at companies directly employing staff in low-paid and manual roles, as well as the businesses and organisations that subcontract them on their premises. More details to come soon.

Approximately 2.5 million adults in the UK have risky or problem-levels of gambling, which can result in significant harm for the individual, their family, their employers, social networks, community and wider society. Following some high-profile cases, more work is being done to look at the links between problem gambling and the profile of those working in specific jobs within the City - particularly trading. The proliferation of gambling shops and online betting sites and apps can also encourage risky levels of gambling. This workshop will address the legal and health/ duty of care challenges surrounding gambling within the workforce. More details to come soon.

We are delighted to announce that Dragon Cafe in the City is returning for 2019! The first session will take place on Wednesday 30 January and will run fortnightly at Shoe Lane Library, between 12 and 7:30pm. A programme will follow soon - in the meantime, visit www.dragoncafeinthecity.com 

 

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If you are designing your organisation's programme of activities and events for 2019, make sure you have a look at our "Health and Wellbeing Campaigns Calendar". This free and useful tool has been developed in partnership with City & Hackney's Public Health team and outlines key health and wellbeing milestones throughout the year. Access the calendar here.