Holistic wellness
in the workplace
Idean was a Finnish design company specialized in customer experience, user experience, visual design, user interface, and service design. They also helped businesses establish world-class design programs that ignite growth and improve customer experience at an organizational level. I joined Idean in 2013 as a UX Designer and switched to Service Design in 2015.
During a challenging period of time, I discovered that while our company culture was very warm and welcoming, many didn’t have the vocabulary or experience to discuss their emotional needs or bring up their concerns in the way that my mental health history had prepared me to do. So I took the initiative to build us a holistic Wellness program from the ground up.
Idean was a Finnish design company specialized in customer experience, user experience, visual design, user interface, and service design. They also helped businesses establish world-class design programs that ignite growth and improve customer experience at an organizational level. I joined Idean in 2013 as a UX Designer and switched to Service Design in 2015.
During a challenging period of time, I discovered that while our company culture was very warm and welcoming, many didn’t have the vocabulary or experience to discuss their emotional needs or bring up their concerns in the way that my mental health history had prepared me to do. So I took the initiative to build us a holistic Wellness program from the ground up.
Making my case
Making my case
I spent several months alongside my full time role interviewing my colleagues through casual conversation and more structured conversations both one on one and in small groups. Diving into topics around emotional safety, creativity, productivity and the role of their professional identity in the wider context of what makes them who they are. I built up a comprehensive view on what they worried about, what they needed or wished for, and ideas they already had.
Alongside this, I benchmarked how other companies and organisations have approached similar topics, finding things to aim for and things to avoid. It became clear that there was a lot of empty talk about employee wellbeing that didn’t translate into reality.
It became clear that wellness can’t begin at the top layer of work with add-on activities. It starts from the very basics of how the work is enabled, how the social environment supports the people, and how well overall life management is considered. When we step into the office, we don’t stop being all the things other than our role, and embracing our full selves in the workplace can make a huge impact in creating a workplace that’s safe, efficient and inspiring for everyone – which means different things to different people.
With my findings, I put together a ‘business case’ for why we should put effort into this, and a proposal with concrete action points. Leadership support was vital for the efforts to work, and luckily I had a strong enough case to get it.
I spent several months alongside my full time role interviewing my colleagues through casual conversation and more structured conversations both one on one and in small groups. Diving into topics around emotional safety, creativity, productivity and the role of their professional identity in the wider context of what makes them who they are. I built up a comprehensive view on what they worried about, what they needed or wished for, and ideas they already had.
Alongside this, I benchmarked how other companies and organisations have approached similar topics, finding things to aim for and things to avoid. It became clear that there was a lot of empty talk about employee wellbeing that didn’t translate into reality.
It became clear that wellness can’t begin at the top layer of work with add-on activities. It starts from the very basics of how the work is enabled and organised, through to how the psychosocial environment supports the people and the work, all the way to the higher level of overall life management. When we step into the office, we don’t stop being the person excited about a hobby or a parent worried about a child, and instead of trying to deny it, we would make a stronger impact by embracing our full selves in the workplace.
With my findings, I put together a ‘business case’ for why we should put effort into this, and a proposal with concrete action points. Leadership support was vital for the efforts to work, and luckily I had a strong enough case to get it.
Safe, efficient and inspiring
Safe, efficient and inspiring
I used dedicated slots in our Monday weekly breakfast meetings to introduce and further define the Wellness program. With workshops and wider discussions, we built up trust between all parties and collected quick wins and pilot initiatives to take into action.
After the initial launch, I held regular Wellness updates, arranged guest speakers including a work psychologist specialised in stress management, and led workshops to discuss and ideate how we can further build up our ability to come into work as our whole selves, embracing the messy nature of life and identity, and celebrating the extra-curricular interests and activities that ultimately make us better at our work.
The most important part was making sure the work organisation and social environment are supporting employee wellbeing. We worked together with the whole studio to define how our design process and project cycles can accommodate our unique needs as well as talents.
We made an effort to normalise asking for help or flagging up when you feel unsure. Increasing transparency by regularly sharing what we’re working on and how it’s going in our team meets was a cornerstone of this – as was making sure project allocation was kept balanced and nobody needed to ‘be a hero’ and take on more than they can handle.
A separate work stream was being run by our principal designer, where our tools and templates were honed and clarified. This tied in perfectly with our work by leaving less room for uncertainty and saving time when the wheel didn’t need reinventing each time.
And on top of the basic foundations, I introduced many additions to boost our everyday moods, increase awareness of wellness topics, and create transparency and pathways for people to approach even difficult topics in a way that’s safe and comfortable for them – as much, or as little, as they want to, as not everyone wants or needs the same level of openness at work.
I used dedicated slots in our Monday weekly breakfast meetings to introduce and further define the Wellness program. With workshops and wider discussions, we built up trust between all parties and collected quick wins and pilot initiatives to take into action.
After the initial launch, I held regular Wellness updates, arranged guest speakers including a work psychologist specialised in stress management, and led workshops to discuss and ideate how we can further build up our ability to come into work as our whole selves, embracing the messy nature of life and identity, and celebrating the extra-curricular interests and activities that ultimately make us better at our work.
The most important part was making sure the work organisation and social environment are supporting employee wellbeing. We worked together with the whole studio to define how our design process and project cycles can accommodate our unique needs as well as talents.
We made an effort to normalise asking for help or flagging up when you feel unsure. Increasing transparency by regularly sharing what we’re working on and how it’s going in our team meets was a cornerstone of this – as was making sure project allocation was kept balanced and nobody needed to ‘be a hero’ and take on more than they can handle.
A separate work stream was being run by our principal designer, where our tools and templates were honed and clarified. This tied in perfectly with our work by leaving less room for uncertainty and saving time when the wheel didn’t need reinventing each time.
And on top of the basic foundations, I introduced many additions to boost our everyday moods, increase awareness of wellness topics, and create transparency and pathways for people to approach even difficult topics in a way that’s safe and comfortable for them – as much, or as little, as they want to, as not everyone wants or needs the same level of openness at work.
Interest sharing workshops
One of the first co-creation initiatives I wanted to try was inviting people to lead a workshop on something they’re good at outside of their role at Idean. This gave them the opportunity to share something important to them with us, and maybe even inspire someone else to take up an interest.
Our first sessions were run by UX Designer Antti, who is also a professional sound designer and walked us through creating a soundtrack for a short video, and Visual Designer Marjukka, an established contemporary dancer and choreographer who showed us how physical movement can also guide us in designing for digital interactions.
Interest sharing workshops
One of the first co-creation initiatives I wanted to try was inviting people to lead a workshop on something they’re good at outside of their role at Idean. This gave them the opportunity to share something important to them with us, and maybe even inspire someone else to take up an interest.
Our first sessions were run by UX Designer Antti, who is also a professional sound designer and walked us through creating a soundtrack for a short video, and Visual Designer Marjukka, an established contemporary dancer and choreographer who showed us how physical movement can also guide us in designing for digital interactions.
Place to rest
I cleaned out a storage room in the basement and converted it into a quiet room, where people can come to rest or nap when they need to. The massage therapist that visited once a month usually set up here for the day.
As Finland’s long dark winters also affect our mental wellbeing, we added a daylight lamp for some bright light therapy.
Place to rest
I cleaned out a storage room in the basement and converted it into a quiet room, where people can come to rest or nap when they need to. The massage therapist that visited once a month usually set up here for the day.
As Finland’s long dark winters also affect our mental wellbeing, we added a daylight lamp for some bright light therapy.
Small things with huge impact
Some improvements were super simple – a colleague brought up that the sound of chairs screeching on the concrete floor in the basement where we had our Monday meetings and breaks was causing discomfort. For less than 50 euros, I added a felt pad to all chair legs, making an instant difference in the soundscape.
By request from others, we also installed a pull-up bar and gymnastics rings and bought some wooden broomsticks (without the brooms) to help with stretching, and provide the occasional double-edged lightsaber duel re-enactment.
Small things with huge impact
Some improvements were super simple – a colleague brought up that the sound of chairs screeching on the concrete floor in the basement where we had our Monday meetings and breaks was causing discomfort. For less than 50 euros, I added a felt pad to all chair legs, making an instant difference in the soundscape.
By request from others, we also installed a pull-up bar and gymnastics rings and bought some wooden broomsticks (without the brooms) to help with stretching, and provide the occasional double-edged lightsaber duel re-enactment.
Winding down on Fridays
One of my all time favourites was my weekly Shit Music Friday email. What began as a little joke in the Helsinki office grew into a years-long run with subscribers from Idean offices around the world and even some of our clients.
As a long-time fan of bad movies and music, the idea of embracing something that’s clearly and unapologetically of low standard is liberating. The blaring reminder to not take ourselves too seriously helped people disengage their brain for the weekend and relax with tunes and jokes.
I often featured music suggested by subscribers, and on occasion even included “Shit Music Friday Originals” when I came across an old hard drive with some electronic dance music tracks I created (badly) back in 2000.
Winding down on Fridays
One of my all time favourites was my weekly Shit Music Friday email. What began as a little joke in the Helsinki office grew into a years-long run with subscribers from Idean offices around the world and even some of our clients.
As a long-time fan of bad movies and music, the idea of embracing something that’s clearly and unapologetically of low standard is liberating. The blaring reminder to not take ourselves too seriously helped people disengage their brain for the weekend and relax with tunes and jokes.
I often featured music suggested by subscribers, and on occasion even included “Shit Music Friday Originals” when I came across an old hard drive with some electronic dance music tracks I created (badly) back in 2000.
Scaling into corporate life
Scaling into corporate life
Idean joined Capgemini in 2017, and started to slowly integrate more into the corporation’s operations. The Wellness program took a hiatus as it became less possible to match the setting and my available time, but as we geared up to move into a shared office with all the other Capgemini units in the Helsinki metropolitan area, my efforts got a second wind.
I joined the small team planning our shared office spaces to help create a space that supports co-creation, cross-unit collaboration and creativity. Together with another Idean colleague, we worked with a Swedish office planner, and included people from all units in workshops and validation sessions to make sure we would cover the needs of different kinds of roles, not just our designers.
The office space across two entire floors was divided into four areas with a different focus. We kitted the quiet area with high-backed sofas and sound-proofed nooks, the lively collaboration area with a variety of setups for different sized groups to get together to ideate, discuss and workshop, and all of them including the client area got their own colour scheme with sofas, armchairs, laptop tables, storage spaces, and plenty of whiteboards on walls and wheels.
To help make the whole office feel welcoming, nurturing and inspiring, we also arranged to have a quiet room on each floor, comfortable sofas and bean bags in common areas, elements to divide spaces into comfortable smaller areas without closing them off, and according to our long-suffering Swedish colleague, made the biggest order of plants he had ever seen. It took some persuading to get it approved, but the result is a true green haven.
Idean joined Capgemini in 2017, and started to slowly integrate more into the corporation’s operations. The transition from an independent design agency to a more bureaucratic environment with less room for creativity in daily operations wasn’t without some bumps along the way.
The Wellness program took a hiatus as it became less possible to match the setting and my available time, but as we geared up to move into a shared office with all the other Capgemini units in the Helsinki metropolitan area, my efforts got a second wind. I joined the small team planning our shared office spaces to help create a space that supports co-creation, cross-unit collaboration and creativity. Together with another Idean colleague, we worked with the Swedish office planner, who reported that he got gray hairs from our demands but was inspired and invigorated at the same time!
The office space across two entire floors was divided into four areas with a different focus. We kitted the quiet area with high-backed sofas and sound-proofed nooks, the lively collaboration area with a variety of setups for different sized groups to get together to ideate, discuss and workshop, and all of them including the client area got their own colour scheme with sofas, armchairs, laptop tables, storage spaces, and plenty of whiteboards on walls and wheels.
To help make the whole office feel welcoming, nurturing and inspiring, we also arranged to have a quiet room on each floor, comfortable sofas and bean bags in common areas, elements to divide spaces into comfortable smaller areas without closing them off, and according to our long-suffering Swedish colleague, made the biggest order of plants he had ever seen. It took some persuading to get it approved, but the result is a true green haven.
Support for a new normal
Having been closely involved in the new office planning, I continued to work with HR and operations to help the company transition into a ‘new normal’ after the first pandemic lockdowns.
We created tools and guidelines to help people manage their time in remote and hybrid settings and recognise warning signs for burnout. We shared tips to help teams maintain unity and communication even with little or no face-to-face time, and I also ran some remote sessions and trainings to introduce virtual collaboration tools and platforms they can use in their daily work.
Support for a new normal
Having been closely involved in the new office planning, I continued to work with HR and operations to help the company transition into a ‘new normal’ after the first pandemic lockdowns.
We created tools and guidelines to help people manage their time in remote and hybrid settings and recognise warning signs for burnout. We shared tips to help teams maintain unity and communication even with little or no face-to-face time, and I also ran some remote sessions and trainings to introduce virtual collaboration tools and platforms they can use in their daily work.
IMPACT
Lasting connection & compassion
Idean was rebranded as frog, part of Capgemini Invent, in the spring of 2021. I continued to work on the New Normal support initiatives, improving our cross-unit proposal process and collaboration approaches, onboarding new joiners and delivering design training, and as union representative in Capgemini Finland’s employee representative team with each unit’s union reps and work safety officers.
When I left my position as Lead Service Designer in December 2022, the legacy of my Wellness program activities was established in the Capgemini office in Helsinki, and with the teams I’d worked with to introduce and build upon wellness related activities. frog closed its Helsinki unit for strategic reasons in 2023, and former colleagues from the span of my time at Idean and frog are now spread across design agencies and in-house positions in Finland and beyond.
I’ve received periodic and consistently positive feedback from team members, along with stories of how the program inspired some of their current approaches to teamwork, collaboration and leadership. I’ve also followed up with clients who got to know the Wellness program and were empowered to introduce their own ideas and initiatives in their teams.
The strongest impact of the Wellness program is the ripple effect on people affected by it. The idea and principles, the work with all its individual activities and overall approaches, helped us create a shared vision of a safe and inspiring working environment, and take action – small everyday action and bigger strategic direction – to create and nurture that safety and inspiration, in turn empowering others to do the same.
IMPACT
Lasting connection & compassion
Idean was rebranded as frog, part of Capgemini Invent, in the spring of 2021. I continued to work on the New Normal support initiatives, improving our cross-unit proposal process and collaboration approaches, onboarding new joiners and delivering design training, and as union representative in Capgemini Finland’s employee representative team with each unit’s union reps and work safety officers.
When I left my position as Lead Service Designer in December 2022, the legacy of my Wellness program activities was established in the Capgemini office in Helsinki, and with the teams I’d worked with to introduce and build upon wellness related activities. frog closed its Helsinki unit for strategic reasons in 2023, and former colleagues from the span of my time at Idean and frog are now spread across design agencies and in-house positions in Finland and beyond.
I’ve received periodic and consistently positive feedback from team members, along with stories of how the program inspired some of their current approaches to teamwork, collaboration and leadership. I’ve also followed up with clients who got to know the Wellness program and were empowered to introduce their own ideas and initiatives in their teams.
The strongest impact of the Wellness program is the ripple effect on people affected by it. The idea and principles, the work with all its individual activities and overall approaches, helped us create a shared vision of a safe and inspiring working environment, and take action – small everyday action and bigger strategic direction – to create and nurture that safety and inspiration, in turn empowering others to do the same.