Community is one of the things that makes Thoughtworks special - the mental health and wellbeing of our colleagues are one of the most important parts of our everyday working lives. And as an Office and Community Manager, it is deeply important to me and my colleagues.
This week marks the beginning of the 8th edition of our Wellbeing Moments, an initiative born out of necessity, but continued out of delight. We have found these to be a wonderful way to connect our people whether they live in the countryside or in the city, whether they are at home looking after children or parents, or whether they simply don't like going out that much. The number of participants and the feedback speak for themselves.
This is the story of how our Wellbeing Moments came about, and I’m sure the beginning will be no surprise.
Connecting when you can’t meet
Empty corridors, desks marked with tape, no clattering keyboards and no rattling coffee machine. In March 2020, the news that our Thoughtworks offices in Germany (and of course globally) would be closing hit us - office and community managers - like an expected, but still deep punch in the gut. After all, the office is the place we are responsible for and we feel responsible for filling it with life.
How could we continue to be a vibrant and supportive community without being together? How could we continue to do community work on an emotional and strategic level without meeting in person?
And then we sharpened our pencils, shook out the meditation cushions, talked to musicians, comedians and artists and put together a package that began as an experiment in virtual space and continues to this day as one of our most successful community initiatives - our Wellbeing Moments.
The whole thing was conceived as a virtual escape from lockdown, to allow our Thoughtworks community to connect in different ways. We wanted to create little breaks for ourselves, from long working days, from the worries that a global pandemic brings, from the monotony of repetitive everyday life and, above all, from the fear of being alone.
Wellbeing Moments are…
Our first Wellbeing Moments series was a four-week schedule with over 20 live online events – from virtual meditation and yoga classes in the morning, to joint cooking sessions and craft or art workshops, to music and comedy events. Some of these events were led by our marvelous colleagues, while others involved external providers and professional artists.
Special attention was paid to our talk sessions under the umbrella of mental health, where colleagues shared knowledge and tips on healthy and ergonomic working, or we talked about how we can improve our overall wellbeing with just a few changes to our daily routine and habits.
Today, it hardly sounds out of the ordinary that we arrange to meet online, both professionally and privately, to experience things together or to exchange knowledge. A good four years ago, however, this was simply not the standard.
As we kicked off the very first event of our wellbeing initiative, I was weighed down by two big questions: “Will people come?” And “Can you see my screen?” The answer to both of these questions was a resounding, “Yes!” What’s more, people didn't stop coming but were grateful for this virtual community space, and continue to be to this day.
Diversity in all things
The biggest thing I learned from this first round of our initiative was that self-care can look very different. Sometimes it's laughing out loud with colleagues, sometimes it's a new recipe for a good banana bread. Sometimes it's a nice song that someone plays live for you and sometimes it's sharing about your day - and, maybe, all of this in your pajamas. It's whatever makes you feel good. And that's exactly the mix we were looking for.
A colleague once told me that the greatest value in these community events was that she realized that there were other people there, not just colleagues doing their jobs, but people who were in the same situation. Who were there, at home in their kitchens and bedrooms, and felt cooped in when reading the news. And this didn’t stop when lockdowns lifted.
Today, we carry on with Wellbeing Moments, because as consultants many of our teams are with clients or continue working remotely or have responsibilities and preferences that mean they can’t attend events in person. With one change: we now have a European Workplace Operations & Experience Team so our online program of events stretches across Europe. We are increasing the reach – specifically of our mental health-focused talk events – but we are also creating opportunities to connect with colleagues from across Europe in a more relaxed setting.
Disclaimer: The statements and opinions expressed in this article are those of the author(s) and do not necessarily reflect the positions of Thoughtworks.
