Leeds Trinity University has invested in a new initiative to help their employees stay happy and healthy.
The institution officially launched ‘Juice’ this week – an online portal full of activities, information and articles to support the health and wellbeing of its 450 academic and support staff.
The programme gives employees free access to expert fitness and nutritional advice, offering weekly fruit, regular health checks and an eclectic range of social and physical activities.
John Hawksworth, Director of Human Resources at Leeds Trinity University, believes it’s important to focus on mental wellbeing and physical health, in a sector full of change and uncertainty.
“It’s important to take a holistic approach to staff wellbeing, which looks beyond the purely physical and visible aspects. To continue delivering the best experience for our students at Leeds Trinity, we remain committed to supporting our staff, whose efforts and contribution are the determining factor for that success.”
The wide range of activities available through Juice include tai chi, boot camps and mindfulness sessions. There’s also strategies for healthy eating, better sleeping and coping methods for the colder, cloudier, winter months.
Juice was originally created and launched to 8,000 staff at the University of Sheffield in November 2012. Sheffield has since achieved sector-leading staff engagement levels with 94% of colleagues proud to work there and 89% recommending it as an excellent place to work. In the last three years the programme has been rolled out to a number of organisations, both big and small, including other Universities.
Gary Butterfield, co-founder of Juice at The University of Sheffield, Executive Director of Everyday Juice Limited, and Leeds Trinity alumnus, is excited to be working with his former University. He believes the culture of Leeds Trinity will complement the Juice programme perfectly:
“The community aspect and feel about Leeds Trinity is why I believe it’s a perfect match, because that’s what Juice is all about,” said Gary.
“Due to its single-site location and close-knit culture I think Juice is going to have a very strong and positive impact at Leeds Trinity. There has already been a great response with 40% of staff already signing up and starting booking activities!
“Juice provides staff at Leeds Trinity with regular expert content and the opportunity to come together in what is a truly remarkable place to work.”
As well as engaging with existing provision at Leeds Trinity, such as Trinity Fitness, the Chaplaincy, Library Services and colleagues from the Nutrition and Health department, Juice provides a platform for individuals to showcase unique talents, hobbies and interests.
John added:
“There are lots of activities taking place across our University already, but there hasn’t been one place where staff can go to discover and access those activities – now they can.
“We’re also really keen for staff members to start new activities – if someone wants to start a book club, there’s no reason why they can’t, and anyone interested will be able to see when and where it’s taking place.”
Conal Siddal, a member of staff in the Alumni Office at Leeds Trinity, has been wanting to set up a staff games group for a while and hopes that Juice will allow him to do that. He said:
“A lunch hour gaming group is something I’ve been thinking about since I started at Leeds Trinity. I often find I waste my lunch hours not doing much, when I could be socialising and having fun with other colleagues.
“We already have the facilities like a pool table and ping pong but I’ve just not known where to start in terms of getting people involved. I really hope that Juice is going to provide a platform to bring this idea to fruition.”
Rebecca joined the HRreview editorial team in January 2016. After graduating from the University of Sheffield Hallam in 2013 with a BA in English Literature, Rebecca has spent five years working in print and online journalism in Manchester and London. In the past she has been part of the editorial teams at Sleeper and Dezeen and has founded her own arts collective.
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