The Hong Kong Jockey Club

Coping with Political Unrest and the Pandemic

Recognising When Employees Need Support

How the Risk and Audit Management Team learned resilience and mindfulness to manage stress

We jumped at the chance to work with one of Hong Kong’s oldest and largest organisations employing approximately 25,000 full and part-time staff.  Recognising the need to support the mental and emotional health of his team, especially during the most work demanding times of the year, Anthony Crampton – Head of Audit department – approached us to design an off-site stress management programme for 40 of his staff.

His aim was to equip his staff with some tools to help them manage their stress levels prior to entering the “stressful months”. He also stipulated that the workshop should remain a surprise, to maximise curiosity and engagement.

Wellness for Life designed a half day retreat and arranged for it to be delivered at an adventure camp, set in a country park. Equipped with focus enhancing and resilience building physical activities, such as rock climbing, archery and adventure ropes, it was the perfect setting to put the tools and techniques they learned into physical practice.

With the help of Neuroscience, the mind / body connection was explained via a multimedia platform and then combined with several fun effective exercises conducted in pairs and teams. Breathing techniques to calm the nervous system, visualisations, meditations and mindfulness and resilience tools were shared, to prepare participants to face any mental, emotional and physical challenges that they may encounter during the physical activities.

What a change a few hours of fun and being present can make! Initially when the team arrived, they seemed a little sceptical, especially not knowing what to expect from the afternoon. Yet after a fun-filled, relaxed afternoon, we noticed signs of them being more open, curious, courageous, creative and forthcoming.

What impact did we have?

When we see the results of what can be achieved in just one afternoon, we feel encouraged and driven to maintain these results. Change may not happen overnight, but it’s definitely important to find a starting point. In general the course we delivered was very well received and employees felt a marked difference between how they felt before and after the course. Here is what some of the team had to say about their experience of the day:

Would use the stress management tools they learnt
80%
Wanted to learn more techniques
100%
Felt equipped with the tools they learnt to manage stress and anxiety
81%
Enjoyed every element of the course
80%
Thought the information was concisive and useful
100%

What our clients say

We think we do a pretty good job here at Wellness For Life, but don’t take our word for it, see what the John Lewis team thought about our course