At Go Group (part of the FD Group, along with IAM member company FD Platinum), our people are the beating heart of our business. Prioritizing their physical, mental, and emotional wellness isn’t just a goal—it’s our mission and our dedicated people team of three helps make this happen. We understand the powerful connection between well-being and professional performance. In a global Company like ours, nurturing a culture of wellness and mental health support is essential to ensure our employees all over the world don’t just survive, but thrive. Here’s how we make it happen:

Mental Health First Aiders: Guardians of Well-being

A cornerstone of our wellness initiative is our trained Mental Health First Aiders. These dedicated individuals are equipped with the skills to provide immediate support and guide colleagues towards the right help when needed. By having a Mental Health First Aider on our team, all of our employees know they have a confidential, supportive ear to turn to, creating a safe and nurturing work environment.

Mental Health Awareness: Tips, Advice and Open Conversations

We don’t just acknowledge key mental health awareness events like Mental Health Awareness Week and Stress Awareness Month—we champion them. During these times, we roll out a series of engaging, informative emails packed with top tips, advice and support links, to educate our team on both their mental and physical wellness and look after their whole self. Promoting these dates helps raise awareness of the available support, encourages open discussions about mental health, and fosters a culture of transparency and honesty. 

Beyond mental wellness, we share practical tips for improving physical health, such as engaging in events such as National Fitness Day, where our Senior Accounts Assistant, an avid bodybuilder, led a session for staff on diet, nutrition, and exercise. He shared his top diet, nutritional and exercise tips to promote a healthy lifestyle and was on hand to answer questions. 

We also supported Mental Health Awareness Week with a ‘Walk and Talk’ event where colleagues buddied up and took a lunchtime walk, or a virtual walk for our overseas colleagues, to spend time away from work for a chat. We recognize and champion the importance of exercise, being in nature and the power of talking and listening to each other. Healthy eating days and monthly step challenges are some of the initiatives we are introducing to further support this mindset.

We encourage our employees in all our global locations to keep fit and healthy with access to gyms and fitness amenities, and we are lucky enough in our Marden office to have a gym right below us, where some of our employees are regulars. We also have exciting plans in the making, such as a climbing wall in our Dubai offices and a gym coming soon to our Paris office. The Head of People and I regularly participate in gym competitions, demonstrating that we truly practice what we preach.

Promoting Healthy Living: Standing Desks and Fitness Challenges

Healthy living is at the core of our office culture. Our workspaces are equipped with standing desks, and we organize exciting fitness challenges across all our locations. Recently, we supported Comic Relief with a unique fitness challenge: biking to Seattle, the location of our furthest employee from our Marden HQ. With a C2 bike lent by the gym downstairs, our international team all contributed pedaling their way to a whopping 4811 calories! By the end of the day, we collectively completed an astounding 8523 calories/miles, showcasing our commitment to health and teamwork.

A Supportive and Collaborative Culture

In our meetings, we ensure inclusivity by accommodating the schedules of our international colleagues, giving everyone a platform to contribute. We actively solicit and implement employee ideas to improve our working processes. Recently, we invited staff to share their top three suggestions and we’re currently putting these into action. We celebrate personal milestones, giving employees a day off for their birthday to enjoy personal time. Recognition is a regular feature, with monthly company values nominations where colleagues celebrate each other’s contributions.

These are just a few ways we support our employees’ wellness and strive to maintain a healthy work-life balance. We’re always open to new ideas and continuously support the needs of our incredible team.