As we settle into another lockdown, mental health and feeling connected to colleagues is vital for a healthy working life.

While we may not be able to socialise in the normal ways with our work family, Liquid has made a few new additions to the world of remote working to help us all feel a little more connected and boost staff wellbeing.

One of the latest ideas to be born out of lockdown is our Liquid Book Club. Liquid is all about PR, social and digital by day, however, at night we are self-confessed book worms. Our virtual book club welcomes a new read each month, which is selected by everyone in the group suggesting a title and then voting via poll to decide which should be the book of the month.

All reading the same book together is a great way of connecting with colleagues. Also, the club provides a little motivation to be reading regularly so that everyone is able to take part in our weekly Thursday discussion where we chat about our thoughts on the chapters so far. We have even set up an Instagram page so that fellow bookworms can read along with our monthly picks.

Back in March when it became apparent that working from home may be lasting longer than a couple of weeks, our CEO quickly arranged for the team to have the option of joining virtual weekly yoga sessions every Friday lunchtime. This hour set aside for the whole team to enjoy each week offers a sense of connectivity and mindfulness with our fantastic instructor, Rachael. These sessions are completely bespoke and focus on areas that need a good stretch – normally our neck and back from sitting at a desk. While we used to love doing yoga in the office together, this weekly Friday tradition is the perfect way to help wind down after a busy week.

Finally, our ‘buddy system’ is another new approach taken by Liquid which works as a way of getting everyone in the company chatting. ‘Buddy groups’ are broken up to include a small group of people that typically may not work together on a daily basis where an hour per week is carved out to have a catch up and a cuppa. During buddy calls the focus is to catch up and try to steer away from work chat where possible and focus on talking, finding out how everyone is and offering advice, a listening ear – and normally sharing some good Netflix recommendations too.

These wellbeing focuses have been greatly adopted by the team and serve as a reminder that while we cannot physically be together, Liquid is committed to investing in new approaches to the working week that ensure that staff aren’t feeling disconnected from each other.