Let me be the first to say it: offering weekly free classes as an employee perk isn’t good enough anymore.

Corporate yoga classes should look (or, at least, to be effective they NEED to look) different these days. Providing a team with yoga at work isn’t the same as it once used to be. We’re in a brand new era of remote or semi-remote working. Of irregular hours. Of both at-home and workplace self-care being accepted and applauded more than ever.

You don’t have to be a genius to realise that folks who’ve got the resources, tools, and encouragement to take better care of their mental, physical, and emotional health – exactly when they need it – deal better with stress and change. They’re better problem-solvers; better creatives; better team-mates.

And when we’re looking at mindfulness, meditation, and yoga at work, we’re talking the elite of engaged employees here.

So, amongst all the different needs and requirements of a team, do you really think a single weekly class, maybe scheduled to meet the instructor’s availability over anything else, cuts the mustard as an employee perk?

Times have moved on.

But what does the future of corporate yoga – or any sort of employee wellness programme – look like?

  • 24hr access. Give your team 24hr access to the tools they need, when they need them, not when it suits anyone else.
  • Include them. Ask what they want and partner with the right people to provide the answers. And make sure the programme you choose can change over time as your team grows and develops.
  • Communicate. Handing them the resources they can turn to whenever they’re feeling burnt-out is the first step, second: keep encouraging and reminding them to check-in with their self-care habit and make sure their team-leaders do this, too.

Put simply: employers need to step up and provide a fully holistic toolkit for self-care; employee perks that meet the individual where they are right now.

If you’re excited to provide a better yoga experience for your team, or want to just learn more about how we do yoga at work, check out our corporate partnerships page here.

Chloe - TYR Founder & Joyful Living Coach

POSTED: 01/06/2021

Chloe is a yoga teacher, mindfulness guide, and joyful living coach, and she thinks the meaning of life is probably to be as happy as possible.

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