As part of our Wellbeing at Work campaign we spoke to Stella Photi, Managing Director at Wellbeing Escapes about her thoughts on the importance of taking regular breaks during our working lives.  

What were your main reasons for starting your company Wellbeing Escapes?

I had the desire to simply make wellbeing experiences more accessible to as many people as possible. As a working mother whose time was precious, I found it impossible to find a service that would give me a wellness experience that I could trust would deliver when I really needed it. I was on the hunt for a specialist who could provide me with a range of quality and authentic wellness experiences that could be pre-booked and pre-arranged to suit my health and fitness needs. The hunt went on until the birth of Wellbeing Escapes, I wanted to create experiences that people could trust, knowing that they had been carefully researched, involved genuine experts, offered great value and possibly even life-changing results.

I wanted to inspire people at all stages of their personal wellness journey, giving people the chance to take some time out from the daily grind, unwind, reconnect with themselves and focus on their health and wellbeing. Having said this, my main aim for Wellbeing Escapes was to play the part of a close friend who can cut through all the jargon again making wellbeing experiences accessible and practical with the goal of truly lifting our customer's spirits.

How important do you think it is for employers and employees to take regular breaks from work including tea breaks?

Having short breaks regularly at work is very important! Taking some time out can help your body ease up putting you in a relaxed state and enables you to recover from heavy workloads.

I recommend that employees and employers snack on nutritious treats throughout the day including fruit and nuts.  To accompany this employees and employers should take short strolls to stretch their legs, have a nutritious lunch and even relaxing tea breaks involving a book, or magazine - let it be a technology free time!

If you are sat at your desk and want to contact a colleague, instead of emailing, phoning or even shouting across the room - walk over to them instead. This enables your body to relax and you are becoming more social by speaking face to face with colleagues.

Do you believe hot drinks such as tea can help contribute to good health?

Tea has been used in the East for thousands of years with the aim of promoting good health and boosting happiness. Drinking teas such as black tea which is believed to help reduce the risk of having a stroke and may decrease lunch damage caused by being exposed to cigarette smoke - something that may affect many of us in the workplace.

As the weather cools down slightly, we are all likely to feel under the weather at some point during the autumn and winter months - a few cups of peppermint, green, or lemon & honey tea a week can help ward off nasty flus and colds.

Recent studies have shown that drinking tea can contribute towards hydration almost as much as water. What are your thoughts on the importance of hydration for wellbeing at work?

Keeping hydrated at work is something that I highly encourage at Wellbeing escapes. Remaining hydrated at all times (not just at work) is crucial as our bodies need water to help blood circulate easily, and also helps muscles remove waste encouraging them to work as they need to. Staying hydrated doesn't just mean drinking water or teas directly - sources of water can also be found in fruits and vegetables such as; watermelon, cucumber and tomatoes.

What top tips would you give to anyone that may be suffering from stress at work?

For those suffering from stress at work I would recommend looking at your attitude whilst working, for example; if you find that you cannot concentrate, you feel withdrawn from the rest of your team, or extreme fatigue these may be indicators for change. Here are some simple steps to get you feeling happy again:

Rest

Make sure you are getting enough rest ahead of a full working day, about 8 hours sleep each night should do the trick.

Remain Active

As previously mentioned taking a break from work activities will help relax and restore your mind and body. Stretch your muscles by going for a walk enabling you to inhale the fresh outdoors whilst focusing on your breathing - this also helps to uplift your spirits, sharpen concentration levels and increase energy levels!

Socialise

Talking to your colleagues at your place of employment about things other than work can also help boost happiness, having someone to talk to about , for example; a great book you recommend or what your having lunch are great conversation starters. Outside of work it also helps to make time for family and friends, have a wellbeing pamper day or simply head out to your local restaurant or bar starting each day fresh!

Unwind

Making time for yourself is important, it's all too easy to let stress build up at work resulting in negative thoughts on your commute home. Running a nice hot bath, focusing on breathing and meditating are fantastic unwinding methods set to empower the body and mind!

Are there measures you think employers can take to help promote wellbeing at work?

As well as looking after yourself, it's always nice to have your employer supporting you throughout your working day. Sharing workloads fairly, praising employees with words and schemes such as employee of the month and making it known that each employee is valued - makes for a good working environment. Employers should definitely encourage making each other cups of tea, installing water dispensers to keep help keep employees hydrated, and perhaps the use of yoga balls and music to promote happiness.

Employers could also package days out for employees every so often - this could help colleagues strengthen working relationships and friendships and will also enable them de-stress through laughter and fun!