Midlands Health & Wellbeing Days: Checking In, Not Just Checking Boxes

In 2025, our Midlands Health & Wellbeing Days created important opportunities for colleagues to pause, reflect and focus on their health. Across two events, more than 150 colleagues stepped away from the demands of daily work to prioritise their wellbeing as people, not just employees.

The days formed part of our wider Health & Wellbeing programme, which in 2025 delivered 84 wellbeing medicals across the UK, including 64 at the Midlands events alone. The onsite checks offered employees personalised insights into their physical health and early opportunities to follow up with their GP where needed. They highlighted hidden risks around activity levels, body composition, and cardiovascular health, helping many colleagues take proactive steps before issues became serious.

What the Days Involved

The Midlands events combined onsite health assessments with workshops on mental health, sleep, stress, ageing and lifestyle. Practitioners carried out detailed checks including blood pressure, cholesterol, heart health, diabetes risk, hydration, body fat and lifestyle factors, all delivered with care and patience.

For many, the results were eye‑opening:

· 39% were advised to seek GP follow‑up,
a reminder of how valuable these checks
can be in identifying issues early.
· 69% discovered unhealthy body fat
levels, revealing health risks that often
go unnoticed in day‑to‑day life.
· 79% were not reaching recommended
activity levels, despite the physical
nature of many of our roles.

In Their Words – Colleagues’ Experience

Many colleagues expressed that they were unsure of what to expect upon arrival at the Health & Wellbeing Days, with some realising that it had been a number of years since they had last considered their health. All attendees were willing to listen and learn, to the experts and each other, and shared stories of the pressures of work and home life.

The workshops were designed to create space for honesty and openness, with the intention of finding common ground amongst colleagues and bringing people closer together. Alongside thoughtful conversations on mental and physical health were fun moments including paper plane challenges, myth-busting quizzes and small competitions.

One colleague noted

“I didn’t realise how many people feel this way. I thought it was just me.” during the discussion on mental health, while another said the session helped them better understand a friend’s recent behaviour – both great examples of the value the Health & Wellbeing Days were able to bring to the teams.

Looking Ahead

Building on the impact of these events, we will continue to strengthen our approach to health and wellbeing through ongoing support and opportunities across the business. This includes our Health and Wellbeing Community and Employee Assistance Programme, alongside the promotion and support of initiatives such as Mental Health Awareness Week, all contributing to our wider sustainability ambition to create a culture that enables wellbeing and promotes healthy lifestyles.