Whether you work in a busy office, use a co-working environment, or spend your week working from home, one thing remains true: if you’re human, wellbeing applies to you. We’ve collaborated with Unity Place as part of our Wellbeing Month activities, to show how businesses and employees can improve workplace wellbeing with five simple steps.
We often refer to positive wellbeing behaviours as ‘bananas’.
Think about eating a banana each day. It’s easy, affordable and makes you healthier and you don’t need to overhaul your entire lifestyle to make a change! Our five banana habits quietly build resilience, focus and emotional balance.
Move
Movement doesn’t have to mean the gym. A 20-minute walk or stretching between meetings can make a difference. Consistency is key, not intensity.
Focus
Focus is about giving your brain a break from stimulation and screens. Any activity that draws your attention to the present moment counts: reading, cooking, creative hobbies, even mindful cleaning.
Focus is about switching off, even for just 10-15 minutes. Employees often ‘take breaks’ while scrolling on their phones, meaning their brain never truly rests. Introducing board games, puzzles or screen-free spaces can encourage genuine mental downtime.
Discover
Discover is linked to motivation, confidence and self-esteem. It’s the feeling of accomplishment that comes from learning or completing something: finishing a small work task, setting a goal, or tackling a DIY job. For younger workers especially, these moments are crucial for building confidence early in their careers.
Communicate
Face-to-face interaction matters more than we realise. Communicate means prioritising real human contact throughout the week – not just emails or messages.
This is especially important if we live alone or work remotely, particularly during winter months when isolation creeps in. It strengthens social skills like assertiveness, conflict resolution and negotiation, all essential for professional success and healthy relationships.
Help
Helping others has a powerful effect on the brain. Even small acts of kindness trigger the release of dopamine and oxytocin, hormones which regulate our stress response and help reduce cortisol, the body’s primary stress hormone.
Making someone a cup of tea, holding a door, offering support, these small actions build connection and reduce stress more effectively than social media likes ever could.
When we stop practising positive behaviours, they’re often replaced by what we call ‘doughnuts’ – behaviours that feel good in the moment but have negative effects over time. These aren’t things to feel guilty about in moderation. The issue arises when doughnuts replace bananas entirely.
Our goal is balance. Prioritising healthy behaviours most of the time while allowing space for enjoyment.
Why this matters for employers with younger workers
Many people entering the workforce today have grown up communicating primarily through technology, so their interpersonal and emotional skills haven’t had the same chance to develop.
As a result, younger employees may not have the tools for conflict resolution, assertive communication and managing stress and relationships. This isn’t a failure, it’s an opportunity.
Employers can create environments which encourage these five behaviours from day one. By embedding them into induction, training and culture, organisations help young people develop habits that can support them for life, while also building healthier, more resilient teams.
Wellbeing doesn’t require grand gestures. It requires consistent, human-centred thinking. When individuals and organisations focus on small, everyday behaviours, the impact compounds over time for productivity, connection and mental health alike.
Sometimes, all it takes is choosing a banana over a doughnut.
To find out more, email hello@arthurellismhs.com or visit the website here.
Jon Manning
Founder
Arthur Ellis Mental Health Support
