Helen Johnson, our Colleague Wellbeing Manager, is a great advocate for the many benefits that wildlife and nature can bring into our daily lives. Here Helen talks about the many advantages of the great outdoors and how she encourages our colleagues to make the most of outside spaces during work breaks and personal time too.

“Our relationship with nature, and how much we notice, think about and appreciate our natural surroundings, is a critical factor in supporting our wellbeing. When it comes to the many wellbeing benefits that nature has, it doesn’t matter what the nature looks like. It could mean open green spaces such as parks, woodlands or forests but also the blue spaces like rivers, wetlands or canals. Or it could simply be the sanctuary of our own back garden or communal outdoor space.

There are of course benefits to our physical wellbeing by getting outdoors and helping to raise general fitness levels. Being active through gentle exercise and taking in fresh air also supports our social wellbeing, providing great opportunities to connect with the community, meet new people, share moments with others and help to reduce loneliness.

We know that spending time outdoors has been one of the key factors enabling people to cope with the stress of the Covid-19 pandemic. Over the last two years nearly half of people in the UK acknowledge that being able to get outside and visit green spaces helped them cope. Being outside improves your mood and reduces feelings of stress or anger, helping you feel more relaxed, along with improving confidence and self-esteem.

At Southern Co-op, as part of our wellbeing agenda we encourage colleagues to engage with our calendar of events which recognises as many aspects of wellbeing as possible, whether it’s financial, mental, physical or social. We share initiatives and incentives to inform and educate colleagues about their wellbeing, and last year ran a competition to encourage colleagues to be outside with nature. Throughout May 2021, colleagues shared their stories and photographs of nature and the environment around them, with a colleague from our End of Life Services sector winning a prize for their contribution in addition to a team from our Lakeside offices who also won with tales of their daily walks around the lake in their lunch breaks.

With Spring here and the darkness of winter behind us, now is the perfect opportunity to be focusing on our wellness, getting outside with others, enjoying our surroundings and finding what nature has to offer. As a employer we encourage our colleagues to use their work break times to get outside if they possibly can, to take some time out to enjoy some fresh air and vitamin D and to feel the overall benefit to their wellbeing.”