Our employees’ well-being is one of BNIM’s top priorities because they are our greatest assets. Each October, we dedicate a week to acknowledging and celebrating our collective well-being. This is a time to challenge our current norms and consider ways we can focus on our total well-being. Wellness Week is more than a health fair with flu shots and biometric screening. It is a time to understand ourselves and set our sights on ways we can care for our whole being: social, physical, emotional, and intellectual.

 

Joyful moments

This year, we jumped in with fun. We started the week by focusing on one question: “What brings you joy?” Through our intranet newsfeed, our fellow BNIMers shared photos and stories from the last year: family gatherings, new babies, pandemic puppies, time to be creative, and special moments in nature. By sharing our joy, we bring joy to all.

Health

We also made sure that everyone understands the full depth of the employee benefits. Often time employees only touch the obvious aspects of our medical plans, like a doctor visit in a crisis situation, an annual dental cleaning, or a visit to the eye doctor. BNIM’s health care plans offer so much more. We used Wellness Week to remind everyone of all the preventive services that are covered 100 percent on our plans as well as discounts on various health and well-being services such as Lasik, sports and exercise equipment, health coaching, and nutritional systems. Of course, we included ways anyone could receive their COVID or flu vaccine at a healthcare provider near any of our offices. We will continue to educate and keep BNIM staff updated on all benefits that can be used throughout the year.

Sleep

One essential component of good health is sleep. This is not a topic that is often discussed with employee wellness but study after study show it is foundational. Through our Employee Assistance Plan, New Directions, employees are given 24/7 access to resources on a variety of topics. This Wellness Week, we focused one day to educating oneself on improve sleep patterns through articles and on-demand webinars available to watch. A favorite quote from Rick Clerici’s webinar was, “If health was a wheel, sleep would be the hub.” For BNIM staff looking to continue the discussion of personal goals, free counseling is available through this benefit plan.

Home Environments

Because we are a design firm, we get the benefit of learning from each other’s skills as they help us enhance and grow our capabilities from both a project and personal perspective. During our Wellness Week, a team of employees from our HealthyBNIM initiative shared their passions for improving their home environments through a panel discussion, “Around the House.” Employees shared aspects of their personal space that improve their wellness in a number of ways.

We learned about:

  • re-wilding landscapes while using gardening to encourage pollinators as well as improve mental well-being
  • capturing rainwater into garden space, filled with native plants
  • taking steps to improve energy efficient through solar panels
  • increasing air quality by reducing in home chemicals with low-VOC paints and cleaning supplies
  • reducing waste by kitchen composting scraps from increased vegetables and fruit in our daily meals

Around BNIM, we say no one knows as much as everyone. By sharing what we are learning personally, we all benefit in our own home environment.

Wins for Wellness

With each focused topic, we encouraged BNIMers to participate Wellness Week through a series of action points. We rewarded employees who took steps to improve their health and well-being — from sharing a joyful moment to researching sleep patterns to going for a walk or to a fitness class — by entering a Wellness Win into our raffle drawing. For each action an employee reported to human resources, their name was entered in a drawing for one of four $50 gift certificates to any store or service that contributes to their well-being: sports equipment, massage therapy, health membership, art or gardening supplies, or a healthy food preparation service. Each Wellness Week winner had the freedom to personalize the best prize for their wellness goals.

BNIM is committed to caring for our employees. We offer a comprehensive benefits package that goes beyond the basics of medical and dental. Through our HealthyBNIM initiative, we care for the whole person, and Wellness Week was a great opportunity to pause and consider new opportunities to improve ourselves.