Why wellness should be top of mind right now

Since the beginning of time, humans have been evolving to survive and the past 18 months has been no exception. We’ve purchased desk chairs, extra monitors and printers. We’ve navigated Zoom and Teams and managed to mute the tiny voice inside our heads that warns about too much screen time for our kids – because honestly if it keeps them quiet during that important meeting, then it is what it is.

But along with the adaptation to our working lives there has also been something else, an evolution on health and mental wellbeing. The pandemic has thrust into the spotlight the importance of looking after not only yourself but the people around you. In this age of digital connectivity we’ve come to realise how important communities and human connections really are.

For Kiwi Graeme Perry, this spotlight on health and wellbeing is something he has long been passionate about. A former fighter pilot for the New Zealand Airforce, Graeme now lives in Thailand and runs LVL. (pronounced level) A digital platform that’s helping businesses bring wellbeing into their daily operations and allowing them to create a feeling of community between staff no matter where they have to work from. 

“I think focusing and prioritising wellbeing is probably the most important thing a company can do right now, it’s the most important thing an individual can do right now. All around the world we have people working from home and you have to make sure that those people feel connected, they need to feel like they are part of a community, otherwise they will become disengaged and you will lose them.”

Pre-pandemic, Graeme’s company used a digital platform to help connect people to health and wellness providers across a chosen city, it allowed people to book and pay online and then meet those providers face to face. Then COVID-19 hit and he realised his business model needed a remake, and the digital platform and physical spaces model that became LVL was born.

“LVL gives businesses an engagement platform to offer holistic health and wellbeing content to their employees, there are live classes, on demand and masterclass content. People can get involved in everything from HIIT (High intensity interval training) to Yoga to Tai chi to art and sound therapy. But most importantly they can get involved together as a community. We run live classes where teams are online at the same time despite living all over the world. We also have the ability to work with businesses to create wellbeing spaces within corporate buildings and offer content in house. 

The corporate wellness market is a $60 billion dollar industry and it’s growing everyday. Graeme says there is a growing wave of awareness from companies about the importance of looking after your employees wellbeing.

“Wellness goes a huge way towards increasing engagement and if you increase employee engagement you increase employee retention. And all companies will tell you recruitment and retention is one of the major costs in business these days.  It’s not surprising therefore that recruitment and retention is the number one reason businesses have a wellbeing program.”

“A lot of people are really struggling with the idea of whether it’s safe to come back into the office and one of the ways to combat this is to bring wellbeing into the company. For those looking for new roles, wellbeing is also becoming more important. The way we work has changed and people are looking for more flexibility. As a business how do you manage this new hybrid, where you have people in the office and others at home. We offer a solution to this, a place where people can come together no matter where they are and interact as part of a team.”

Graeme says wellbeing isn’t just something for companies to focus on but also for individuals – especially during a time when so many people are unable to travel to see friends and family. 

“As people we can’t lose our sense of community, it’s one of the most important things, I feel really isolated from my daughters back in New Zealand, I feel the stress of that. I haven’t seen them for nearly two years, but it gives me a real lift to get online with them and do a HIIT session every Thursday or do yoga, to work together on our mental wellbeing. We could simply do a zoom session, and we do that as well, but to be able to do something that takes it to the next level and elevates that sense of community, especially during this time, that’s really powerful.”

Graeme is offering Kiwi businesses and groups complimentary access to the LVL platform until the end of September to help employees prioritize their wellbeing during the current lockdowns. If you are interested simply email [email protected]. You will be provided with an access code and further details.  Check out the platform at www.lvl-wellbeing.com