Stress-Reduction Workshop

Practical stress-reduction and mindfulness exercises your team can use immediately

– Reduce stress, uncertainty and negativity surrounding COVID
– Decompress with a relaxation meditation
– Foster connection between team members

Practical Mindfulness

Who should do it? – Organisations or teams that have been struggling with the stress, uncertainty and negativity surrounding COVID, remote working and lockdown.

What is it? – It is a 60- or 90-minute online Zoom workshop with practical stress-reduction and mindfulness techniques that your team can use immediately.

How does it work? – Chibs will provide coaching on identifying and managing stress. There will be occasions for your team to connect in meaningful ways, with interactive polls and several breakout groups throughout the workshop. There will also be an opportunity to decompress with a practice-led relaxation meditation session

Why are we doing it? – Stress and uncertainty has gone through the roof over the last 18 months. Statistics show that post-covid employees are drinking more, taking more substances, sleeping worse, and their mental health has declined. Also, surveys have shown that work has become more challenging and many remote workers are feeling disconnected and lonely.

How will my organisation benefit? – Your team members will learn to employ simple tools to reduce the stress, uncertainty and negativity surrounding COVID and lockdown. They will discover that there are upsides and downsides to lockdown and working from home. They will learn to pay attention to and appreciate the ‘positives’ and put in measures to mitigate the effects of the ‘negatives’.

How much does it cost? – $500 for up to 50 participants.

What are people saying?

“I just wanted to reach out to you to thank you for last Thursday’s workshop. It was a fabulous 90-minutes which I thoroughly enjoyed and took a lot of learnings away from and will hopefully implement as required. The feedback from the team has been terrific. I look forward to future sessions.”

Nicole Noye

Chief Executive Officer, Collective Wellness Group

“We were so pleased with the session today, it was spot on - really tight and focused!! So composed, articulate, and relatable.”

Melissa David

Learning & Organisational Development Consultant, Clayton Utz

"Thank you so much for your time and tools – it was such a lovely thing to do for everyone; clearly, we have all been experiencing a fair amount of anxiety and uncomfortableness of late! It was awesome to run the polls and break out into groups and connect on a personal level about our shared experience."

Julia Emrose

Studio Manager, Alexandra Kidd Design

"Thank you so much for running the session for us the other day, we had some fantastic feedback from our members and I personally really enjoyed taking the time to stop and meditate with you. We can’t wait to work with you again."

Daniel Barraza

Community Lead, WeWork

Organisational Health Check

The anonymous interactive polls are an opportunity for your organisation to get a mental-health check for your team. The workshop creates a safe space for participants to discuss their challenges; therefore, you can have confidence that the answers are honest.

The information you gather gives you a valuable snapshot and can help you target your future wellbeing interventions more effectively.

You also have the option of collecting specific data or ask your team particular questions. If you would like to take advantage of this opportunity, please provide the questions at least 48 hours in advance.

What Do I Need To Know?

Most frequently asked questions and answers

How are people feeling before a session?

Before the workshop many participants report feelings of anxiety and stress, difficulty sleeping, negative thinking, trouble switching off and relaxing, guilt about juggling parenting and working from home, or bloating and other gut problems.

What happens during the session?

Short meditation plus a stress-reduction tool.
Break-out groups: Discuss your experience of the meditation and what you hope to get out of the session.
Introduction to Chibs (story of my burnout).
Poll: What symptoms have you suffered in the last month and have these symptoms increased or decreased in intensity during Lockdown?
Break-out groups: Share your experience of Lockdown or working from home – what have been the benefits and what have been the challenges? How COVID has changed our mental health.
3 x stress-reduction breathing tools (demonstrated and practiced together).
Poll – Which exercise relaxed you the most?
Mindfulness and its Benefits.
2 x stress-reduction tools (demonstrated and practiced together).
10-minute guided relaxation meditation.
Break-out groups: Discuss your experience of the meditation; which stress-reduction tool worked best for you?
Poll: Which tool or tools will you use this week? Around the room: What is your biggest takeaway from today’s workshop?
Some exercises will be taken away in the 60-minute workshop.

What can I expect after the session?

In the days after the session, most participants reported having successfully used the tools to achieve one or more of the following: less anxiety; longer and better quality of sleep; enhanced ability to deal with stressful situations; more positive thinking; less overthinking; improved focus; and improved interactions with children, partners and co-workers.

How much time should you book out of your calendar?

Participants should schedule at least 10 minutes of free space into their calendar after the workshop. Knowing you have to go straight into another meeting will disrupt your focus and take away from your experience. For example, if the 90-minute workshop finishes at 10.30 am, you should schedule the next appointment for 10.40 am or later.

Should you book the 60-minute or 90-minute workshop?

If the leadership team is willing to participate in the session and takes the lead in driving participation, do the 90-minute session. The longer session provides more tools and allows more sharing and communication between the team members. If the leadership team is not present, I suggest the 60-minute session; team members will be more comfortable dedicating an hour out of their day.

How many people can I expect to attend?

You know your organisation best. However, as a general rule, if the senior management or leadership team is present at the workshop, your team will feel more comfortable taking time out of their day, and engagement will be higher. Historically, participation rates will be 50-75% or more if leaders encourage and attend the sessions. If the leader does not drive the session, rates will be approximately 15- 30%, depending on the length of session, time of day, and amount of promotion you do.

What time of the day is best?

Any time of the day is excellent. However, I suggest you do 90- minute sessions at the beginning of the workday to maximise engagement. At the start of the day, fewer distractions will arise.