The Growing Force Behind Corporate Wellness
With mental health high on the nation’s agenda, it’s never been more important to think about how we as individuals face stress and what our employers can do to tackle the problem faced by overworked and under pressure employees. Alex Mahon, 30, quit her own corporate life to set up a company that brings corporate wellness straight to the office. Her mission is for every worker in the UK to take a much-needed daily ‘Pauze‘ for themselves. Belle About Town met Alex to get under the skin of how she intends to do this, and find out how she overcame her own stresses to run a successful business.
1. How did you come to set up Pauze?
I decided to set up Pauze from my own personal experience and frustration that businesses are not doing enough for their employees in terms of looking after their well-being and mental health in the workplace.
In my first role as an Executive Assistant I worked for an incredible ex-partner of Goldman Sachs who had then gone on to start his own Private Wealth Management company. Many of our meetings turned into philosophical discussions about spirituality and Hinduism which really opened my mind. Through these discussions he encouraged me to do yoga as a way of managing my stress levels, which I fell in love with. Six months later I left my job and travelled to India where I did a yoga teacher qualification.
When I returned to London after travelling, I started working as an Executive Assistant for a CEO of a global company of 10,000 people. It was at this company that I really understood what it was like to be part of the big corporate wheel and to feel as if you are just another number. With offices all around the world , ravel was extensive and I often arranged calls at unreasonable hours. Which is no surprise that burn out was fairly high in the office.One day, one of our top executives was on a business trip and couldn’t move due to musculoskeletal issues. Subsequently she ended up in hospital and was told extensive travel and long hours at her desk were likely to be the primary cause. After explaining the benefits I persuaded her to see an Osteopath, but the only free slot she had in her diary was three weeks away! This got me thinking that surely there should be a way we can bring treatments and therapies into the office to make wellbeing more accessible, prevent stories like this one and to manage employees health better. This started the process of setting up my business – Pauze.
2. How is Pauze relevant to us?
Pauze is a wellness consultancy whose mission is for every single employed or working person in the UK to take a daily ‘pauze’ for themselves. We bring wellness treatments and workshops directly to people in their place of work to enable them to take a break from the daily grind without worrying about repercussions.
Pauze specialises in providing employees with the tools to manage their health in a natural way. Our aim is to encourage preventative care, reduce burn out and anxiety in the workplace, and increase employee morale. We also offer a range of treatments such as Reflexology, Cranial Sacral Therapy and Indian Head Massage. Our workshop offerings are growing, the “Mindfulness,” “Positive Under Pressure,” “The Calm Choice,” and “Link between Gut Health & Mental Health,” have been very popular. Workshops are great because they give employees tools to take home that can be implemented into their daily lives.
Recently we have started doing wellbeing days/weeks which we love creating. It is a tailored plan that we create based on your companies needs and interests using a few different holistic health modalities spread over one day or one a day for a week. We see this as being a great way for teams to bond.
We have also started a CSR programme by offering workshops to carers at mental health charities from our charity events. In time I would love to grow this side of the business too.
3. What kind of clients do you work with?
We work with a range of companies primarily the creative industry. However, we hope to reach the financial sector eventually as we feel they probably need it the most. We pride ourselves in being able to work with different sized companies and budgets.
4. What is it like running your own business?
It is hard! Ironically in setting up a business to focus on employee wellbeing, my own wellbeing took a major hit. My mental health decreased mainly due to a feeling of isolation and loneliness because no one warns you how lonely start up life can be. I’ve been on a huge learning curve and now I really do have to practice what I preach to keep my mental health stable. I am really enjoying the process of running a business, the learning that comes with it and meeting new and amazing people. Also, thanks to Pauze I now have a great little black book of healers that I can call when my wellbeing is out of balance.
5. How do you stay motivated?
When I need to stay motivated I reconnect with my vision board. Yes, that is a real thing! The board looks like a school project, but it has my goals with what I would like to achieve on there and my values that go with it such as community building, loyalty, and compassion. This reconnects me with the reason why I am following this path when I might be having a bad day.
6. What advice would you give other Belles thinking about setting up their own business?
1 In the first year, make sure you have an income still coming in. You will be surprised how quickly you can spend your savings!
2 Join a co-working space. I’m a member of 42 Acres and for me, having that connection to other self employed people gave me a sense of belonging.
3 Have a support network. This can be friends or family, or just a group of people you can chat to when you feel like giving up. You need your band of supporters and this is quite a separate group to your best friends.
7. What have you learned along the way?
I have learnt that I have a very strong self-belief which has carried me through the hard times. I’ve also learned that there is so much to learn in setting up your own business. It is important to ask lots and lots of questions during this exciting growth period. I completed AllBright’s Academy course – a 12 week course created by Female Founders for Founders – which taught me so much and I still refer back to the content.
8. What is your overall mission?
My overall mission is for everyone that works in the UK to take time out each day to focus on improving their mental or physical health, and for companies to encourage this. Too much of our time is given to others and our own needs get neglected. You’d be surprised how many people can’t even justify taking a lunch break. It’s essential we break this habit.
9. How would you recommend our readers start their journey towards improved wellbeing?
Nature is by far the best way to reconnect with oneself and take a pauze. Taking a walk on your own in a park with your phone on aeroplane mode focusing on the breath really helps me, if you like take it up a notch and walk barefoot on the grass. This is known as grounding or earthing the Earth carries an intense negative charge. This charge is electron-rich, theoretically serving as a good supply of antioxidants and free radical destroying electrons.
Our charity events are always with experts in the wellness industry and the purpose is to give you practical tools that you can start using in your daily life. Readers can follow us on pauze_uk for news on upcoming events.
* To find out more about Pauze, visit https://www.pauze.co.uk.
