Colleague wellbeing was put firmly at the centre of the agenda with a series of events during September.
The UM Wellbeing Month included a busy schedule of presentations focusing on different ways to enhance both physical and mental wellness.
The Wellbeing Month followed UM Group’s hugely successful Great Molasses Challenge earlier in the year which raised over £33,000 for the charity Farm Africa.
The money was raised thanks to colleagues running, walking, playing football, cycling, rowing, swimming and going on dog walks, all with the aim of clocking up as many miles as possible.
The dedicated Wellbeing Month saw a range of expert speakers invited to present to everyone within the UM Group on a variety of wellbeing themed topics in Teams presentations.
The sessions, which were well attended, included two sessions of ‘Optimising the Performance of the Human Mind’, delivered at the start and end of the month by Chimp Management, the organisation founded by Professor Steve Peters, author of the bestselling personal development book The Chimp Paradox and who is best known for his work with sporting legends such as Olympic cycling champion Sir Chris Hoy and the snooker star Ronnie O’Sullivan.
The session provided attendees with valuable insights into the functioning of the mind, along with practical tips for effectively managing thoughts, emotions and behaviours.
Four sessions were run by Phill Ireland of Ireland Fitness, two entitled ‘Lifestyle Improvements for Everyone – Breathwork’ and two looking at ‘Lifestyle Improvements for Everyone – Getting Better Sleep’.
Phill is a former English Thai-boxing champion and a six times World stick-fighting champion. He’s also completed many mountain marathons and ultra marathons as well as ironman triathlons and enjoys pushing his mind and body to find out what is possible.
About 10 years ago Phill went through a cancer related family tragedy and this shifted his focus more onto fitness to health and wellbeing and Covid-19 gave his drive a further boost as health for those around him became a bigger concern for so many people.