Wunderman Thompson thinks it has a solution to workplace stress: power naps!
Okay, that’s not the whole story.
For Mental Health Awareness Week, the agency’s London office is encouraging its employees to take 15-minute breaks throughout the day for activities including power naps, yoga stretches and mindful walking.
“Stress is the enemy of creativity. We want to give staff practical strategies to help them minimize stress in their daily lives so they are best equipped to produce great work and enjoy doing so,” Wunderman Thompson U.K. CEO Pip Hulbert said in a statement.
Any jokes about power napping aside, the effort seems to be just the first step in the agency’s attempt to address an important issue.
Wunderman Thompson U.K. is also introducing what its calling a well:mind team, which is comprised of eight mental health ambassadors split between its U.K. offices who have received training from the charity Mind. The ambassadors will act as impartial points of contact to direct employees towards additional support when needed.
The program begins today with sessions introducing activities that employees can add to their routine. Author and speaker Josh Roberts will also be on hand to discuss workplace mental health and employees will be invited to the Greater London House for a motivational session with “happiness guru” Danny Bent, who was voted one of the 100 happiest people in the U.K.
“We want to use the events on Wednesday to change attitudes towards stress and stress management in the workplace. These aren’t issues you can pay lip service to once a year, and we want to make all employees aware of the full range of resources we offer to safeguard our people’s mental health,” Hulbert explained in the statement.
“Internalizing stress and anxiety only make the issue worse. Although struggling with pressure is not a sign of weakness, many of us still feel uncomfortable talking about our mental health—especially to our line managers. While the ambassadors are not trained counselors, they will be able to point colleagues in the right direction to get the support they need,” he added.
Wunderman Thompson’s initiative follows a Mental Health Month campaign earlier in May from the 4As and advocacy nonprofit Made of Millions entitled “Dear Manager.”