Mental Health Awareness Month is May, and it's an important initiative observed with media, various events, and other efforts based around varying mental health themes each year.

Your mental health and that of your staff can make a huge impact on your company. According to the World Health Organization, an estimated 12 billion working days are lost every year to depression and anxiety at a cost of $1 trillion USD per year in lost productivity. Organizations who take an interest in employee wellbeing are likely to have teams that are more loyal, engaged, and productive.

Work absolutely affects your team’s mental health. Great leaders will do everything they can to make sure the impacts are all positive. Show your employees how much you care - and support general health and wellness - with one (or more) of these engaging ideas.

23 Mental Health Awareness month activities

1. Offer a stress reduction workshop

There are various forms of stress, but all of them contribute to chronic physical and emotional issues. It’s crucial that people have the right skills for managing stress, and you can help with this by setting up workshops. Consider having your HR team organize stress-reducing activities or classes. Chances are, almost everyone on your team can benefit from learning about new ways to deal with stress and mental health in general. Research some experts in your area and see who can offer personal sessions. Additionally, you can set up virtual workshops for teams who are scattered. This makes it easier to include everyone in your organization no matter where they are located. Plus, such workshops can be a unique employee benefit offered by HR. 

2. Build an evergreen bulletin board

Share the wealth of information around mental health in an interactive bulletin board. In a common location where everyone can access it, post resources such as pamphlets, phone numbers, etc. Get creative with inspirational quotes, drawings, and other colorful elements meant to engage others. Feel free to post a rotating question meant to spark participation, like “What’s your favorite way to destress?”, along with blank pieces of paper so that people can write their answers. This area will quickly become a popular stop for conversation, and everyone might learn something new! For more fun bulletin board ideas, make sure to keep up with our blog. 

3. Create a mini library

There is a wealth of books and other resources available that can help to educate and support their team in their mental health journey. Set up a small space as a reading corner or free library station where people can contribute books that they might have, and also take ones that are of interest to them. Get things started by selecting a few books and setting them out. We suggest some titles like “Burnout: The Secret to Unlocking the Stress Cycle" by Emily Nagoski, "I Thought It Was Just Me (But It Isn't)" by Brene Brown, or "Nobody's Normal: How Culture Created The Stigma Of Mental Illness" by Roy Richard Grinker. Make sure to encourage participation by letting everyone know that checking out the books is completely optional and anonymous. 

4. Host group fitness classes

Physical activity is notorious for helping with mental strain. No matter what type of activity you’re into, you can probably find a class that your whole team can enjoy. For example, everyone might be into yoga and that’s a great choice for people of all levels. But, your team might also like karate, archery, or ribbon dancing. Get creative and don’t be afraid to think outside the box - the important thing is getting everyone moving. If you can fit in a little laughter, that’s just a bonus! 

5. Set up a well-being circuit

You’ve heard of circuit training, where people participate in different sessions to improve fitness. Set up a similar day with several stations pertaining to overall health and wellness. For example, start with a light breakfast and make-your-own smoothie station. The next station can be a quiet meditation session with white noise and a darkened room, while the one following that is a hydration station with water and various flavorings. Perhaps the next station is a short stretching demonstration. You get the idea! A variety of stations gives people the chance to keep moving and try new things. This idea does take some time and prep to execute, so you may want to form a committee to bring the day together. 

6. Create an “escape room”

If you follow our blog, you know we suggest escape rooms as a great team-building activity and way to get out of the office. Here, we are talking about a different type of escape room. Instead of trying to get out, people will never want to leave! Find a quiet space and turn it into a plush break room. Dim lighting, white noise options, aromatherapy, and comfy seating with soft pillows will all encourage a few moments of rest and relaxation. Throw in a blanket and a mini fridge and you’ve created an oasis within your office walls. If you really want to encourage use, create the ability for people to reserve the room for a half hour at a time. This will make a welcome break in anyone’s stressful day - we’re betting you’ll quickly see the room completely booked up! 

7. Sponsor a healthy breakfast

If you are able to bring in a mental health advocate for a quick talk, a simple breakfast is easy enough to host. Do some research in your area and see which professionals are available to come in and give your team some tips. Pair their talk with a light breakfast like yogurt parfaits and fruit, and some delicious coffee and tea options. This makes a nice treat for your team and provides an incentive for them to come and listen to what your speaker has to say. 

8. Set up mid-day stretching

Let your onsite team know that every day at a certain time, all activity will be paused and everyone should take the opportunity to stretch and get in some movement. Stretching is so important to physical health, but it can also help to regulate breathing and increase blood flow, bringing down stress levels. Many people get sleepy around 3 pm, so this is a good time to halt your regular meetings and other work, stand up, and get a breather. Let your entire team know that this is a new office routine that everyone should expect and encourage. 

9. Have leadership share thoughts on mental health

Your team isn’t likely to take mental health too seriously unless they see that it’s a priority for your management. Before kicking off a health and wellness event, or at the beginning of the month of May for Mental Health Awareness month, bring everyone together and have a member of your c-suite explain why mental health is important to them and what the company is prepared to invest in to make mental health a priority. Getting enthusiastic buy-in from company leadership is a great way to encourage mental health awareness from the top down. Mid-level managers will also feel more empowered to take the time to participate in mental health awareness activities too. For more ideas on creating a positive work environment, make sure to follow our blog.

10. Host an outdoor activity

Fresh air is good for the body, mind, and soul. People who spend time outdoors tend to have reduced stress, anxiety, and depression. Encourage these habits (even temporarily) by setting up an outdoor activity for your team. This could be a badminton tournament, a quick game of basketball, or an outside yoga class. Or, you can set up a field-day style event with multiple outdoor games or activities. Even a humorous hula hoop contest provides a lot of laughs and a nice break in the day. Whatever you can do to encourage people to get out and enjoy some fresh air is a win. Check out our list of team-building workouts for even more active ideas. 

11. Promote screening tools

One of the biggest hurdles people face when dealing with mental health is figuring out what resources are available to them. As you kick off Mental Health Awareness month, make a point of handing out support resources, such as options for screening for depression. Screening resources in particular are helpful because many people don’t realize they’re experiencing a problem. 

12. Host a paint party

Encourage employees to get creative and manage emotional stress through art. You can coordinate an outing to a “paint and sip” type studio that hosts parties, or you can bring someone into your office. Some offices even set up a special space with canvases and art supplies, and people can paint at their own pace. It’s worth noting that you’ll likely garner more participation if you schedule everything during work hours, instead of adding another thing to the agenda of people that may already be stressed out. 

13. Organize a gratitude challenge

Research has shown that regular gratitude is important for improving optimism and overall mood. People who consistently feel gratitude tend to feel happier overall. You can cultivate these habits by encouraging staff to add things they’re grateful for to a virtual or in-person bulletin board. This is a great way to connect with people from other offices as well. For scattered teams, consider putting together a Google Drive where people can add notes, photos, or other items that show their gratitude. Anonymous is fine, and participation should be optional - the people who choose to partake will feel great! Here are some additional gratitude exercises for the workplace. You could also set up an employee shout-out program so staff can share their gratitude with peers. 

14. Facilitate a wellness gift exchange

Everyone likes getting gifts! Create a gift exchange table where everyone brings one item, adds it to the table, and then chooses something else. The caveat is that the gift should be health and wellness themed. Make sure to keep it all under a certain dollar amount so that choosing something doesn’t feel like a burden to people, as well as generic enough that anyone who grabs the gift might find it useful. Great gift ideas could be stress balls, specialty teas, books, candles, a spa gift set, slippers, etc. The list of what you can come up with is nearly endless! If you’re feeling extra generous, have the company buy all of the gifts and foot the bill as a nice gesture to your team, showing your commitment to overall health. This could be a really fun way to kick off your next team building retreat or wellness event. 

15. Set up an adult coloring station

Adult coloring books have become trendy in recent years, and for great reason. Coloring provides a soothing and mindless activity for clearing the mind. Set up a station in your office with comfortable chairs around a table, plenty of coloring books or sheets, and quality markers and colored pencils. Encourage employees to take a few moments whenever the world gets to be too much, and enjoy some quiet time with coworkers. 

16. Host a crafting circle

Creative activities are a great way to shift focus as well as for teams to bond. For a fun and lighthearted mental health activity, grab some crafting supplies. Consider hosting a series of DIY activities like birdhouse-building or embroidery. Anything from making soap to pottery throwing can be interesting to your group and encourage conversation and relaxation. 

17. Offer workplace massages

One of the most popular ideas for showing employee appreciation can also be a welcome tool during Mental Health Awareness month. Have a professional massage therapist come on site and offer their services at no fee to your team. Bonus points if you can set up a quiet, private room where people can experience all of the relaxing benefits of massage, but chair massages can work just as well! Most professional massage therapists will have such a chair and can bring their own equipment. Though this option can be a bit pricier, it is usually highly sought after by employees. For more unique non-monetary incentive ideas, read our past post! 

18. Community garden clean-up

More outside activities! That’s because, as we mentioned, fresh air and sunshine is good for everyone. Improve everyone’s mood even further by helping out in the community. Many cities have local gardens or parks which could use some serious clean-up. Helping with the effort and being part of something bigger is sure to give people a sense of accomplishment and feel more deeply connected to the community in which they live and work. Check in with your local development authority and see how to go about setting up a team event. 

19. Have a wellness giveaway

You don’t have to have a huge budget to give away something meaningful pertaining to health and wellness. As a tangible token of how much this matters to your company, give all employees a themed giveaway. This can be wellness related, such as a branded yoga mat and water bottle, or specific to mental health, like a subscription to a meditation app. You might also look for highly recommended self-help books and buy everyone a copy, or a subscription to a mindfulness magazine. If you have plenty of budget, you may want to tack on a larger giveaway as part of a raffle for one winner. Examples for a grand prize might include a full spa weekend, year-long membership to a yoga studio, or expensive ergonomic office chair. Such giveaways are a fun kick-off to team wellness events, and can also nicely bookend the end of an event like an office retreat.  

20. Set up well-being Mondays

Get rid of that “case of the Mondays” by changing the tone and boosting morale from the very beginning of the week. Choose a different topic for each Monday morning, and send out tips or videos for everyone to watch. You can also include any other resources that can help with the topic. Everything from energy boosters to positive self-talk to confidence building can be really helpful topics for your team. Plus, this tactic will allow everyone to participate no matter where they are. Whether your team is in person or in several offices, you can send the materials out virtually and let everyone take advantage. 

21. Encourage random acts of kindness

Research shows that being kind to other people is good for our mental health. Encourage this behavior among your team by having a contest or passing out journals for people to keep track of their acts. The great thing is that acts of kindness tend to have a domino effect where the people who benefitted tend to turn around and perform such an act. Before you know it, your organization will be full of people bending over backwards to be nice to each other! 

22. Mandatory self-care lunches

Did you know most people don’t take a full hour lunch break? Many people end up just eating at their work space without even stepping away from work tasks. This can contribute to employee burnout  and is not a healthy habit. To encourage new habits, during the month of May, inform everyone that lunch hours should be an hour - and it’s mandatory! People can choose to go out to lunch with others for some conversation, take a walk, or read a book in a park. The important thing is they’re stepping away from their desk and mentally separating from work tasks. It’s worth noting that this one is hard to pull off without setting an example. No one is going to take a full hour lunch if their boss and other management all continue working in their office. Have your entire leadership team commit to this initiative if you hope to get a strong participation rate from others. 

23. Friday self-care

For companies that are really serious about mental health and want to prove it to their employees, shut down early on a Friday. Close your office at 1 or 2 pm and tell everyone that the idea is for them to spend the time on self-care or something that brings them joy. We know what a big ask this is, but trust us, it means a lot to your staff. And remember: it only works if management honors the set up and isn’t calling or emailing their team during the break. Announce that in honor of Mental Health Awareness month, you’re granting people an afternoon off to take care of their mental health - whether that means spending the afternoon napping, or calling around to therapists for a future appointment. If you want to engage everyone a bit further, have them come back on Monday and spend a few minutes in the morning sharing how the time off helped them and what they hope to see in the future. 

Include health and wellness in your team-building efforts

Today’s employees are increasingly interested in health and wellness, and seek out companies who support healthy bodies, minds, and spirits. It’s not enough to say that you care about peoples’ mental health: you have to prove it with your actions. 

A robust team-building retreat where you bring all of your employees or specific departments or teams together can be the perfect opportunity to include some new wellness initiatives. An effective team-building event includes education, time for socializing, and other elements that pertain to the mission and values of the company (for example, a volunteer event for a cause that is close to the company). There are several mental health awareness tactics that can be incorporated into a team event, such as classes, giveaways, or workshops. You can even share resources and show off the latest initiatives in the wellness space.

In short, incorporating mental health awareness activities is a great way to put your money where your mouth is when it comes to overall health and wellness. If you’re not sure exactly how to fit everything into a one or two-day event, reach out to Surf Office. We can plan an engaging event that lets your values shine through while giving employees the tools they need to be successful - and mentally healthy.