Ready to host a workplace wellness event? Not sure when the best time is? Let us guide you through the options!

Morning

Pros:

  • Staff are feeling fresh and ready to take on information.
  • Staff are less likely to be engrossed in a task and miss the event.

Cons:

  • Depending on how early this is scheduled, might miss those who work flexibly to do school drop off.
  • Depending how early this is scheduled, some might miss the event as not all staff look at their calendar first thing.

Verdict?

A great option – just be mindful of your staff’s general start time and give them a buffer to get themselves to the event.

Lunchtime

Pros:

  • Doesn’t take time away from business activities.

Cons:

  • Setting boundaries around lunchtime is really important, and hosting the event over lunch, when staff are entitled to unpaid time to disconnect and fuel themselves, would go against that. See more here.
  • Staff might resent the organisation choosing a time that is best for the organisations’ bottom line, especially for an event that is meant to be about their wellbeing.

Verdict?

Best avoided.

Afternoon

Pros:

  • There’s plenty of time to remind staff about the event over the day and create buzz around it.
  • Staff are less likely to miss the event.
  • Staff are more likely to be ready to concentrate, having just had a break.

Cons:

  • Might miss those who work flexibly to do after-school pick up.
  • Things can “come up” over the day that have to be dealt with before COB that might stop some staff attending.

Verdict?

A great option – just be mindful of your staff’s general finish time and make sure the event is scheduled to finish earlier than this.

After hours

Pros:

  • Doesn’t impact on work time so doesn’t take away from business activities.

Cons:

  • Staff might resent being asked to participate in a work event outside their usual hours.
  • An activity that might have generated positive feelings for the company looking after their staff’s wellbeing might instead be seen as an empty gesture.

Verdict?

Best avoided.

Other considerations

There are many other things to consider that could impact on the best time to run a workplace wellbeing event, including not just the time of day, but the day of the week and the time of year. Here are some helpful questions to consider in your planning:

  • How many offices/sites are there, and are they all in the same time zone?
  • Are your staff mainly on site, remote, or a combination?
  • Are there other large workplace-wide events coming up such as an all-staff meeting or town hall event?
  • Will there be any time-sensitive projects on at the time that would preclude people from joining in the event?
  • What’s the overall workload like around the time of year you’re thinking to run the event?

Bottom line?

Know your team! While you are unlikely to find a time that suits absolutely everyone in the workplace, do your best to consider who your staff are and which of the pros and cons above apply to them. Then, choose a time that is most likely to suit your actual team.

Picked a time and ready to book in? Get in touch to organise your next workplace wellbeing event!