Mind Body Business

This year’s scheme is offering a small grant of financial support, up to £250 (per business), to businesses based in Ards and North Down Borough who are interested in providing a workplace health and well-being initiative for their employees.

Why should you take part?

• Employee illness, chronic poor health, low job satisfaction and high turnover leads to low productivity and lost business earnings.  Happy workers are 12% more productive.
• Encouraging healthy habits now can prevent serious health conditions later and save your business money in the long run.
• Improving morale and health does not have to cost a fortune.

Any suitable initiative should provide an opportunity for employees to make healthy choices and introduce lifestyle improvements following the Take 5 Steps to Wellbeing approach which helps maintain and improve wellbeing. The 5 steps are; Connect, Be Active, Take Notice, Keep Learning and Give.

Grants will only be offered following the assessment of application forms and will be awarded solely to companies that meet the eligibility criteria.  For details on the criteria and to submit an Application Form please complete documents below:

IMPORTANT DATES

Application form deadline is Thursday 3rd July 2025 by noon.

Only forms received by this date will be considered for funding.  Due to funding limits, grants will only be offered (on a first come first served basis) to companies who meet the criteria.

Letter of Offer issued following assessment by Friday 11th July 2025.

Get Active Advice

The Health Development Specialist from the SE Trust has shared a few stress relieving exercises to help relieve stress and get active as you go through your working day:

• Get Active, Take a walk -  A quick walk around the block creates an opportunity to get fresh air, stretch your legs and clear your thoughts, and then return to your work with renewed focus.
• Stretch - If your job involves sitting down looking at a screen all day, stretching every hour or so is important to help prevent postural problems.
• Breathe deeply – Deep Breathing (also known as diaphragmatic breathing) has proven health benefits. It encourages a full exchange of incoming oxygen and outgoing carbon dioxide and signals to your nervous system to calm down.
• Practice mindfulness - So, what is mindfulness? Quite simply, it means the mind is present to what is happening in the moment. Think about it for a minute – is your mind in several places at once?
• Visualize a happy place - A quick mental break can do wonders and visualisation is a great technique for relieving stress at work. If you can’t get outside for a quick walk, find a quiet space in the office, close your eyes for a minute or two and visualise a place that makes you feel calm and happy.
• Laugh - It’s no joke, laughter really is just what the doctor ordered when it comes to stress relief exercises at work. Not only does it lighten the load mentally, laughter also enhances your intake of oxygen (we know from the deep breathing that’s a good thing), it stimulates your heart and other organs, and increases the release of endorphins from the brain (the body’s natural feel-good chemicals).
• Perform exercises at your desk, such as seated leg raises, calf raises, and chair dips

Please see the Get Active at Work Flyer from the SE Trust - if you can, please print this out or share an electronic copy with your colleagues at work.

Mind Body Business will:

• Raise awareness of the benefits of workplace health
• Keep enterprises up to date on the activities of partner organisations
• Increase workforce creativity and productivity
• Engage and motivate your workplace to maximise performance, reduce absence rates and retain the best employees
• Support you on your journey to make your business a better place to work, Mind Body Business is open to all employers and employees located in the borough. To sign up to the programme, please email: healthandwellbeing@ardsandnorthdown.gov.uk or call 0300 013 3333 Ext. 40333