April is Stress Awareness Month, a fantastic opportunity to raise awareness of the causes, symptoms and techniques to combat stress.

As part of We Are Wellbeing’s services, we train a team of Wellbeing Champions to act as day-to-day health and wellbeing advocates for our clients. This means that, when the We Are Wellbeing team aren’t on-site, wellbeing initiatives are still being promoted internally.

Wellbeing Champions are internal employees that work together to produce information and advice for their colleagues, and act as a point of contact for any health or wellbeing issues the team may face. They’re there to promote the importance of wellbeing and encourage a strong, positive workplace culture.

One of our clients, Romero Insurance Brokers, has a fantastic team of Wellbeing Champions who’ve been working hard to promote health and wellbeing initiatives internally. So far they’ve created monthly newsletters, wellbeing boards, health campaigns and are now working to implement on-site fitness classes before and after work.

We chat to Karl Linnecor, Commercial Insurance Broker and Wellbeing Champion. He tells us more about his role, what he enjoys about being a Wellbeing Champion and shares his top tips on how best to combat stress in the workplace.

What does the Wellbeing Champion role involve?

The role involves coming up with ideas and initiatives with the other Wellbeing Champs, that we can promote throughout the company. We share these campaigns within our departments and try to encourage people to take part.

Why did you first decide to become a Wellbeing Champion?

It’s a bit of a strange reason, actually! I used to be extremely fit and healthy until I had kids and I thought being a Wellbeing Champ might give me the motivation I needed to get back in shape.

What’s your favourite thing about being a champion?

Getting together with similar like minded people who want to make our work and life a much better place.

Why is Stress Awareness Month important?

It’s good to highlight key ways to combat stress at an early stage, to help people’s mental wellbeing. Too much stress can lead to other mental health problems such as depression, so it’s important to find ways to identify and better manage stress as soon as possible.

What are your top tips on combatting stress in the workplace?

Everyone responds differently to stress, and everyone finds different elements of working life stressful. But my personal advice would be: don’t take everything people say to heart and if you ever do start feeling overwhelmed take a 5 minute break from your desk. Have a quick chat to someone about something like sports or a TV show you like. I find this helps to clear my head.

What difference does the Romero Group’s wellbeing programme make?

I think as a group we go above and beyond with the kind of wellbeing plans and services we offer. I have experience working at other large corporate insurance companies who don’t proactively say or show what they can offer – Romero is totally different.

How are you looking after your own wellbeing during this difficult time?

While I’m working from home I’m looking after my wellbeing by taking a full hour at lunch to spend time with my children. I have also bought some weights to exercise with, and I’m also trying to take 10 minutes away from my screen from time to time to break the day up.

Finally, why do you enjoy working for the Romero Group?

Although Romero is a large and growing company it still has that personal / family feel. Justin, our CEO, pops in to each department and always asks how we are all doing. If I’m up in the Director’s Suite everyone asks how you are too – this is something that you just don’t normally get from big companies. It’s really nice to know you’re not just a number and the Senior Leadership Team knows who you are and care to ask. It’s the little things like that, that make a difference.

Could your business benefit from a dedicated team of Wellbeing Champions helping to make a difference to your workplace culture? Together with We Are Wellbeing, we can give your employees the tools they need to combat stress, improve overall wellbeing and thrive personally and professionally. Get in touch with our team to find out more!