Taking cue from May being ‘Mental Health Awareness Month’, BNF Bank rolled out several activities among its employees to push the importance of physical, mental and emotional well-being.
Driven by its ESG employee wellness pillar, the bank’s human resources team crafted a series of events aimed at addressing different strands that contribute to positive mental health, while pushing home the importance of being self-aware as a pivotal element in the individual’s understanding of their behaviour as part of their general well-being.
Staff attended an online talk about the importance of nutrition delivered by Antonella Grima, a public health specialist and registered nutritionist. The presentation was an interactive event through which employees were reminded of the benefits of nutrition and how what one eats greatly impacts one’s mental health.
Another insightful online discussion for staff was led by Patrick Psaila, managing partner, warranted psychologist and training consultant at PsyPotential. The talk offered practical tips and techniques to follow in one’s journey to well-being and the tools available that can enrich this journey and stay on track.
Our busy lifestyles present constant challenges
Others still took to the outdoors on a bright sunny morning for a rejuvenating fitness session aimed at connecting with inner vitality. Led by a BNF employee, Lara Sciberras, the class focused on physical awareness, stretching and working on muscles to stimulate and reinvigorate energy.
An event that was a resounding success was a visit to the offices from service dogs. The docile yet alert dogs provided therapeutic presence and petting these gentle animals gave everybody a sense of serenity and mindfulness. The therapeutic power of animals is well documented and hosting these special guests was a very welcome break in the working day.
And to keep the importance of good mental health top of mind, laptop lockscreens gave out regular empowering and thoughtful messages to encourage staff in their daily efforts at the desk.
Alison Grech, head of the Human Resources Management and Development Unit at BNF, said: “Even with so much awareness out there of the importance of mental health, our busy lifestyles present constant challenges. We need to regularly stop to think about where we’re at in our mental health lifecycle. The activities we prepared were intended for this reason and served as reminders that our efforts towards this end should be constant, if we are to lead happy, balanced lives both at work and with our families.”