Autumn. The season of pumpkins and crunchy leaves. Scented candles and woodland walks. Of team-building excursions and wellness weekends.
Everyone loves autumn. And we’re not just saying that! It was voted the most popular season with 18-24-year-olds, and there’s even a name for those who adore autumn - an autumnophile.
It’s the perfect time of year to try and boost your team’s morale and improve your employees’ wellbeing by encouraging them to get outside.
Autumn is a time of reflection and reconnection. Just because summer’s over doesn’t mean you have to stay cooped up inside until spring.
To help encourage your team’s enthusiasm towards embracing the chillier of the transitional seasons, ensure they have the warmest, snuggliest branded outdoor clothing.
Autumn runs from the end of September through to just before Christmas in the northern hemisphere. It marks the transition from summer to winter. As the temperatures become noticeably cooler and daylight disappears, it’s the perfect time to reflect and focus on your employees’ mental wellbeing for several reasons.
1. New Year, new starters
Autumn is subconsciously linked with that feeling of a new pencil case and academic anticipation. Of hope and trepidation of a new school year. When autumn comes around you can’t help but feel excited for the new term (even if you aren’t at school still). With freshers arriving on campus for a new academic year or new starters joining your company, it’s the perfect time to touch base with their mental wellbeing from the start.
Read more: Here’s a quick and easy trick for onboarding new starters
2. It’s Mental Health Awareness Day
October 10th is World Mental Health Day, which falls right bang in the middle of autumn.
World Mental Health Day aims to raise awareness and remove the stigma about discussing mental health issues because a staggering 1 in 4 of us will suffer a mental health problem of some kind each year in the UK, according to Mind.
At Fluid, we prioritise our team’s mental health by partnering with Everymind at work, monthly wellbeing and satisfaction check-ins, and employee assistance programmes offering resources and support for our team members.
Read more: How to support your staff with their mental health
3. It’s the start of SAD season
SAD, sometimes known as the ‘winter depression’, stands for Seasonal Affective Disorder. It’s a type of depression that affects sufferers during the autumn and winter seasons and is characterised by feelings of decreased energy and fatigue, difficulty concentrating, physical aches and pains, a persistent low mood, and changes in appetite. It’s quite a common condition with about 3 people in every 100 suffering from it in the UK alone.
By focusing on employee wellbeing in autumn, you can try and preempt the onset of SAD with your most susceptible employees, plus give them the tools they need to manage it as best they can.
Read more: Top 10 products to help reduce anxiety
4. It’s the perfect temperature for getting outside
Autumn is the ideal time to enjoy outdoor activities when it comes to boosting team morale. It’s not too warm (like summer) and not too cold (like winter). It’s usually safer too with less risk of hypothermia or dehydration. You can rest assured any team-building activities you plan outside will probably be safe and enjoyable.
5. Pretty autumnal colours
Autumn is the ‘season of mists and mellow fruitfulness’, a.k.a the best time for a bit of self-reflection surrounded by the beauty of nature. Both Hinduism and Buddhism see the colour ‘orange’ as the colour of enlightenment, and with so many autumnal colours around like orange, red and brown, it’s a great time of year to enlighten your team on how to focus on their mental wellbeing.
6. It’s before Christmas
For many, their mental health will deteriorate over the Christmas period due to stress. From getting frustrated over making their Christmas ‘perfect’ to money worries, for many, Christmas is not the most wonderful time of year. Because of this, autumn is a key time to focus on improving your team’s mental wellbeing and boosting their morale.
It’s not just that autumn is the best time of year for focusing on your team’s mental wellbeing and boosting their morale, but it’s also the perfect time to do it all outside. Encouraging your team to try some natural R&R during fall will double up their wellbeing points for that ultimate mood-boosting benefit - all backed by wonderful science.
Getting outside, especially in autumn, will:
1. Reduce stress
It’s been proven that nature walks and getting outside reduce stress levels. Studies have shown that even a brisk walk releases endorphins and serotonin (the ‘feel good’ hormones) which helps to reduce the feelings of stress. By encouraging your team to get outside during autumn, you’ll be helping to keep their stress levels at a manageable level.
Read more: How to cope with feelings of anxiety
2. Combat burnout
Autumn is, unfortunately, also a common season for dealing with burnout in the workplace. Google searches for ‘fall fatigue’ have risen by 348% this year alone. Symptoms of burnout include feeling exhausted a lot of the time, feeling helpless or trapped, procrastinating and having difficulty concentrating.
Getting outside and spending time in nature has been proven to help combat feelings of burnout. In a study where nurses could only take breaks indoors or outdoors for 6 weeks, it was found that nurses felt a significant reduction in emotional exhaustion when their breaks were spent outside. By encouraging your team to get outside and enjoy nature during autumn, you’ll help combat burnout during its riskiest season.
3. Boost overall mood
We all know that getting outside helps to improve our overall mood. Spending at least 2 hours a week outside can significantly boost your mood, improve your sleep by improving your circadian rhythm, and reduce your symptoms of depression by helping your body produce vitamin D. Enjoying a weekend woodland walk has been estimated to save the UK on average £185m a year in mental health costs.
4. Improve self-esteem
You want your team to feel confident. You want them to feel high levels of work satisfaction. Getting outside in autumn is one of the best ways to help them feel great about themselves, and their career. Getting outside rewires your brain and makes you more receptive to conversations and more creative. It’s also been shown to improve memory and make us feel more energetic, both of which factor into improving our self-esteem.
Looking for some outdoor morale-boosting inspiration for your team this autumn? Here’s a list of 10 activities you could do with your team whilst enjoying the fall foliage.
1. Have an outdoor mindfulness session
This is a great activity for smaller groups. Find a quiet space out in nature and take part in some shinrin yoku, or forest bathing.
2. Enjoy some apple-picking
An apple a day also helped increase wellbeing and boost morale (that’s the saying, right?). Find your nearest orchard and see if they do group work outings for apple-picking sessions.
3. Host an autumn photography challenge
If you’re looking for a way to encourage a little friendly competition this autumn within your team, why not host an autumnal photography challenge? It’ll help encourage people to explore their creative side whilst getting outside.
4. Have a team-building campfire experience
Be it real-life or virtual, a campfire experience with marshmallows, cocoa and bonding is the perfect activity for this time of year.
Read more:14 must-have festival camping essentials
5. Add some autumn into your conference season
With autumn being the height of conference season, add an autumnal twist to your conference schedule. How about taking your networking outside?
6. Enjoy a hike
An autumnal group hike will ensure to boost your team’s morale and wellbeing whilst getting in those all-important steps.
7. Do some pumpkin carving
Take a trip to your local pumpkin field and take part in some pumpkin carving. See who can get the most creative with their design.
Autumn is the best time of year to get outside with your team to boost their morale and improve their wellbeing - however, your team will only be able to fully enjoy themselves if they’re wearing the right outdoor clothing for the season.
Sustainable outdoor clothing
Keep them warm and cosy through all their activities with our selection of branded sustainable outdoor clothing.
Whilst hiking through woodland or picking the perfect pumpkin, your team will look and feel fantastic in their custom-branded clothing proudly displaying your brand wherever their adventures may take them. Which allows your brand to be seen in many more places!
Read more: Isn’t it time clothing was honest? Introducing Iqoniq
Stylish and cosy clothing, at its best
From sweatshirts and joggers to coats and pullovers, we’re all about comfort when the weather starts to turn chilly.
But, wouldn’t you feel even cosier if your clothing was part of a feel-good story, too?
Read more: Here’s why we love Oxious
Wear with care
It’s all about being 100% comfortable in what you’re wearing, and trusting what you’re sharing with others is 100% true, with no hidden surprises.
Check out our range below for all the best in outdoor clothing essentials.
Read more: You’re going to LOVE these cosy sustainable clothing brands
As the weather starts to turn chilly, autumn is the perfect time to make your brand go further with clothing that matters.
From that warm, fuzzy feeling of a cosy hoodie to that heartwarming buzz of knowing your choices are helping people and the planet alike, we’ve got your brand covered when it comes to keeping your team warm this autumn.