Marlborough wineries make wellbeing a priority

Module Overview

Wine Marlborough recently teamed up with Farmstrong to run their second Wine Industry Wellness Week. Here’s how it went.

The Marlborough Industry Wellness Week, which ran from May 27-31, aims to strengthen a culture of wellness and wellbeing in the industry. It is championed by the industry-led Wine Industry Resilience Committee. It’s a fun and supportive week, during which businesses across the sector are encouraged to share their wellness activities in a spirit of “friendly competition”. Twenty-four wineries were involved this year.

Hunter’s Wines and Forrest Wines were both winners.

Hunter’s Wines won the Most Impactful Initiative Award and Forrest Wines took out the Leadership Award for ongoing commitment to wellness.

Karen McKeown, who is responsible for health and wellness at Hunter’s Wines, says that finding ways to promote the wellness of staff mentally and physically is an essential part of running a successful business.

“You spend a lot of time at work so the wellness of staff is really important. A big part of it is creating connections with each other which makes everybody work better and relate better.

“If you feel that people care about you and that you’ve got a work family, it makes all the difference. You know there is someone there you can talk to or share something with or just have a laugh.”

Building relationships

Hunter’s Wines has worked on providing more opportunities for people to build relationships and have fun in the process, says Karen.

On Friday afternoons staff gather for ‘Wine options’, a blind tasting of a range of wines, which provides a chance for staff from all areas of the company to get together and wind down at the end of the week.

For Mental Health Week the company organised activities linked to the Five Ways to Wellbeing. They shared techniques with staff for managing stress, such as breathing techniques and stretching exercises that can be done within people’s roles throughout the day.

“We had a Guess the Baby photo competition to get everyone involved and have a bit of fun,” says Karen. “We also brought in items to donate to the animal welfare organisation Four Paws and entered a quiz team for the Four Paws fundraiser as a way of giving back to the community.

“We have get-togethers for interns coming on board to help with vintage and we celebrate together when vintage is done. We give our interns some Kiwiana too which goes down well. We also provide staff with fruit so there is always a healthy snack available.”

A lot of interaction within the company happens on an IT communication board, called Slack, says Karen.

“It’s a really good way to share information, get people involved and get feedback. People share quirky and funny stuff as well. It’s a great way to keep in touch if you’re not seeing everyone in person every day.”

Initiatives to promote wellness across a business do not require a big budget, says Karen. Wineries come in different sizes and the amount of resource available is going to vary greatly. “What matters is how impactful and relevant it is.”

Having an effective wellness programme

Karen is a believer that a wellness programme within a business goes two ways.

“It’s not just your employer giving back to you, it’s also about you giving back to your work and community as well. One of the things we have planned is helping with the care of our wetland area at our Delta Vineyard.  Staff are going to go out one afternoon and have a session to help maintain it, as well as learn about the development of the area and the environmental impact it is having.  We’ll have a coffee cart there to give us a hot drink and a scone afterwards.”

For Karen, the core of an effective wellness programme is building stronger relationships, having some fun doing it, and gaining information that might help your mental or physical health.”

Forrest Wines, the other award-winner at the Marlborough Wellness Week, “is committed to nurturing both our vines and our people,” says Beth Forrest.

“During Wellness Week, we celebrated two key initiatives that promote our team’s wellbeing. Our 38-hour work week allows full-time employees to finish at 3pm on Fridays, giving them extra time for self-care and relaxation.

“Additionally, our ‘Never Miss a Monday’ boot camp is in full swing, with a personal trainer leading us through energising workouts in our beautiful vineyard. These initiatives aim to boost physical health, foster team spirit, and provide a balanced and fun work environment.”

The Five Ways to Wellbeing

Companies involved in Wellness Week were asked to show how they make Farmstrong’s Five Ways to Wellbeing a part of the working week. Farmstrong is a rural wellness programme which provides tools and resources to help people manage the ups and downs of farming and growing.

Farmstrong ambassador Sam Whitelock says wellness starts with getting the basics right.

“Research shows people who thrive in spite of life’s challenges tend to have five things in common: they stay connected with their mates, they enjoy the simple things in life, they stay active and move the body, they keep learning new things and they give back by helping out friends, neighbours or their community.

“These are called the Five Ways to Wellbeing. My experience is that over time, their benefits really add up and a make huge difference to your life.”

Every year more 14,000 farmers and growers increase their wellbeing thanks to Farmstrong. For free tools and resources on managing the ups and downs of farming and growing, visit farmstrong.co.nz