Muntons, one of the country’s leading supplier of brewing and distilling malts and malted ingredients has kicked off a working from home wellbeing programme. The maltster, which is based in Stowmarket and has sites in Bridlington, the USA and Thailand, is encouraging team members to take time away from their screens by rolling out a scheme which includes a variety of tea breaks, such as ten-minute yoga and wellbeing sessions. Employees have also had a lunch hour blocked out in their Outlook diaries, to prevent meetings being scheduled across that hour.
Led by the company’s work from home committee, team members are also invited to socialise with their colleagues by taking part in post work drinks on Wednesdays, cooking lessons and a Christmas quiz next month.
Many studies prove the importance of breaks during the working day and the positive impact they have on not only productivity but mental and physical health.
Eamonn Sparkes, Muntons’ Head of HR, said: “Like many companies, we didn’t envisage the work from home guidance lasting for so long and we’re conscious that this has meant less social interaction for a lot of us during this time.”
Muntons is particularly aware of how the days are getting shorter with the winter arriving and its Leadership Team hopes that its employees who are working from home all day, can get out and be active while it is still light.
Eamonn continues: “While we’re not making these events or the full hour-long break mandatory, we are asking that everybody makes sure they don’t sit in the same position, facing their screens all day, every day.”
Priding itself on being an employer where teams enjoy themselves, Muntons has a low employee turnover, with the average time a colleague stays with the maltster being 11 years. It isn’t unheard of for employees to work for the business for decades either, with colleagues still working for Muntons for 30, 40 and even 50 years.
Eamonn ends with: “We’re finding our new virtual socials and sessions are encouraging cross-departmental conversations, which have been sorely missed. That quick chat on the corridor or at the water cooler about last night’s TV seem like a thing of the past, so it’s wonderful to see people socialising once again.”
Photo: Richard Platt, Senior New Product Development Technologist, is the host of “Come Bake with Me” this month.
Copyright: Tim Simpson Photography
