January can set the tone for the year ahead in so many ways — including when it comes to workplace wellbeing.
Leeds Mindful Employer Network Project Lead, Leigh Staunton, has been chatting about this with Jane Dennis, Head of Wellbeing and Office Manager at Oakland. Oakland is a Mindful Employer Charter Signatory and active member of the Leeds Mindful Employer Network. Jane also holds an important position on the employer Steering Group Committee, which drives and monitors the initiative’s work and outputs across the city.
At Oakland, wellbeing is treated as a core business priority from the very start of the year, rather than as an ‘add-on’, reactive or even tokenistic approach. Through its annual Wellbeing Week in January, the organisation takes a proactive, people-led approach to supporting physical, mental and social wellbeing across the team.
In this interview, Oakland shares why January matters, what their Wellbeing Week looks like in practice, and the lessons they’ve learned that other employers can take into their own organisations.
Why is your ‘Wellbeing Week’ at Oakland an annual priority for workplace wellbeing?
2026 is the third year we will be hosting our annual ‘Wellbeing Week’ at Oakland. The idea originally came about as we wanted to debunk the myth of ‘Blue Monday’ and put a positive spin on the start of the year.
We realised January can be a difficult time for many after the Christmas festivities are over and due to a combination of factors, such as lack of sunlight and shorter days (which can trigger low moods and Seasonal Affective Disorder). There’s also financial stresses and money worries, which often creep in after the holidays and also loneliness and isolation due to less social interaction.
As a business, we really wanted to strongly emphasise the importance of practicing self-care and raising awareness of the different ways the team can take a proactive approach to their wellbeing, whether it’s physically, mentally or socially. We wanted to demonstrate and share the variety of ways people can support and nurture their wellbeing and create healthy habits.
What does ‘Wellbeing Week’ look like at Oakland? What kind of activities do you deliver over the week?
We realise Wellbeing is never a ‘one-size-fits-all’, and so we offer a wide range of activities throughout the week, so there’s something for
The Health Zone station at Oakland’s Wellbeing Week in January 2025
everyone.
We connect each of our events to the five pillars of our Wellbeing Strategy (which links closely to the ‘Five Ways to Wellbeing’ model adopted by the NHS and Mind). These pillars include: Connect, Get Active, Be Mindful, Learn and Give Back, and they help serve as valuable reminders of the different ways to support and boost wellbeing.
In the past, we’ve run wellbeing quizzes and competitions, a lunchtime walk, smoothie making, a strength-training demonstration and relaxation and meditation sessions to name just a few! We have also supported charities such as the Samaritans and Leeds Mind as part of the week, and each event we offer has been run by a different employee.
What’s engagement like? How do you motivate employees to get involved?
We actively encourage different employees in the business to run the various activities during Wellbeing Week, and it’s been really refreshing to see so many people taking part and enjoying the many events we have to offer. It really has become something led by business for the business.
What does success look like? How do you monitor the impact of your Wellbeing Week?
We’ve enjoyed great success in previous years and this has been apparent by the number of people taking part in the activities, but also seeing how many people are keen to run an activity themselves.
Liliana and her healthy smoothies
What was your favourite thing about ‘Wellbeing Week 2025’ at Oakland?
There were so many great activities this year, but I especially enjoyed the healthy smoothies Liliana made! These were both delicious and nutritious and even better because they were made by one of our team. Liliana also shared the recipes after so we could make our own at home!
Why would you encourage other network members to consider running something similar in their organisation?
Oakland employee Zoe delivers a Strength session during Wellbeing Week 2025
It’s a great way of taking a fresh approach to wellbeing and encouraging the team to get involved. It can help them think about the ways they can support their wellbeing and create their own ‘wellbeing toolkits’ to help them stay happy, healthy and energised throughout the year.
We deliberately chose to run our Wellbeing Week at the start of the year, but a Wellbeing Week or event could be run at any time of the year and linked to other wellbeing events or awareness days.
For me, the most important thing is reminding people about why wellbeing is important and helping our team to thrive and feel part of the wonderful culture we have created here at Oakland.
Thanks to Jane for contributing to this blog.
Not part of the Leeds Mindful Employer Network yet? It’s free, quick and easy to become a member via this link.
Find out more about signing the Mindful Employer Charter to make a public demonstration of your commitment to employee wellbeing
Planning your wellbeing activities for next year – check out MindWell’s helpful page, Awareness Dates for your Calendar
