Welcome to the Whappy Hour

Combining Wellness with Your End of Week Treat

We all know what a Happy Hour is, but what on Earth is a Whappy Hour?

Well, the answer is actually fairly straightforward. It’s basically any “Happy Hour” treat combined with an additional Wellness activity. Putting the two together and we get a Wellness Happy Hour – or Whappy Hour.

Yes, we know the name sounds pretty corny, but we see that as a net positive. Try saying it out loud a few times and not laughing or feeling a little silly in the process. Feel that smile forming on your lips? That’s just a reminder that wealth and wellness doesn’t need to be so serious all the time. There should always be room for a little more fun in our lives.

Anyways, the goal of the Whappy Hour is to get some of your employees and colleagues who don’t normally do wellness activities to get tagged onto something that involves them. Our theory is that by promoting a treat that they really enjoy, like an outing or Happy Hour, and having one wellness activity simply attached to the main event, there’s a higher chance of them participating than were it a wellness event alone.

We’ve experimented this a little with our team. Even though we’re pretty fitness focused, sometimes the only thing on our mind at the end of a busy week is unwinding. We personally love our Happy Hour get togethers, especially when we celebrate milestones, but sometimes we’re so busy we forget about the wellness part.

Combining the two, having a wellness activity lead into the end of week treat, really makes a difference. It puts it in our minds that we have one more wellness activity coming up, along with the sweet sweet reward for our hard labor after.

We’ve had a blast with our Whappy Hours, so we recommend you give one a try too!

How do you set up your first Whappy Hour?

A Whappy Hour always has two components: 1 wellness activity and 1 treat activity.

Ideally, the wellness activity will also be something your team finds fun and enjoys, so that the treat makes your Whappy Hour a two-for-one where fun and team-building are concerned.

For your wellness activity, here are 7 options to get you started:

• Go for a hike. A good hike doesn’t have to involve a mountain or a hill in the middle of the woods. There’s a lot you can do even in urban centers. A large park might have a good wooden area, or even a hilly part of town could give your team a good workout and a quick break from the office.
• Play a round of Frisbee golf. Frisbee golf also involves a course with 9 to 18 holes, but instead of hitting a tiny ball you’re tossing a frisbee at a target! It’s more accessible than regular golf and a lot of fun with a big group.
• Take a cycle class. Cycling makes for great cardio, whether it’s outdoors in the streets or indoors on the stationary. A basic one hour class can give you and your whole team a real workout.
• Attend a yoga class. Yoga is one of those wellness.
• Enjoy a brief mediation session. Wellness isn’t all about burning calories and making your team sweat. Looking after yourselves and managing stress is a major part of it too. Meditation can take some getting used to, but its ability to calm our minds and ease our anxieties compared to other activities is basically unmatched.
• Walking. We love walking. As an activity, it doesn’t require a lot other than a comfy pair of shoes and a couple of safe streets or sidewalks near your office. Plus, if it’s a busy week, you can combine this activity with a walking meeting.
• Laser tag. If you missed out going to these kinds of places when you were young, rest assured that you can still have a blast here even when you’re in your 30s and beyond. Sure, you might feel out of place for the first few minutes, but once you get into the zone, you’ll probably find yourself laughing and sweating with your team at the same time.

Now, for that other part at the end. Here are 6 examples of awesome Treat Activities:

• Ice cream socials. Head down to the nearest ice cream shop with the team, grab a cone and lightly talk about your upcoming projects. If it’s nice outside and you’re in a walkable neighbourhood, why not combine this treat with your wellness activity and take a walk?
• Work from home. This is great if you have a wellness activity over lunch hour, because you can send the office home in the afternoon where they can shower up, cool down and get to work from the comfort of their own space. If you have projects to review, do it remotely over Skype or another conference call application.
• Power up with a smoothie or Acai bowl. Grab a healthy and delicious snack together as a team. These are great follow-up treats to any wellness activity for any team that’s consistently health-conscious.
• Take over a nearby tea or coffee bar. There’s nothing wrong with a little caffeine early in the afternoon. If there’s still work that needs to get done that afternoon, bring your laptops or notepads and turn it into a casual meeting.
• Have a kombucha tasting. Kombucha bars are becoming a common sight in North America, most major cities from Austin to Montreal have a couple of these spots (especially near the universities). Kombucha might not be for everyone, but with so many varieties it’s worth giving this healthy drink a try!
• Enjoy a classic Happy Hour. Happy Hours are popular for a lot of reasons. They help us unwind, bond with our coworkers, and be more social than we might normally be at the office. If you can, opt for a spot that offers food and some non-alcoholic varieties of drinks so that everyone on the team might find something to their tastes!

Your challenge for the office

Turn 1 Happy Hour or other outing you do as a team this quarter into a Whappy Hour. Let us know how it goes and if you can send us pictures!

If you’re not sure where to begin or need help brainstorming and putting together your plan for your next event outing, drop us a line – we’d love to get to know your company and help you make the move towards adding more wellness to your company culture!

Yours in wellness,

The FC Squad

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