On Friday 23 September, Macquarie staff enjoyed the first of two Wellbeing Days for 2022. From quality time with family and furry friends to extra time for hobbies, read how your colleagues embraced the day.
Irene Ng from the Faculty of Medicine, Health and Human Sciences, Angela Chow, Selma Huang and Veronica Chen from the Macquarie Business School (pictured in the feature image) spent the day together at a candle-making workshop.
“Thank you for offering the Staff Wellbeing Day. We are able to take a break from work and did a candle-making workshop. It feels good to be recognised and return to the office with a refreshed and healthy mind,” said Irene.
Julia Rolph from Group Marketing used the Macquarie Staff Wellbeing Day to spend some extra time with her dog Lexi, taking her on a visit to the park.
David Indge from Service Connect spent the day doing something he loves, volunteering at the UCI Cycling World Championships.
Louise Carrall from the Research Executive Portfolio spent Wellbeing Day visiting Kamay Botany Bay National Park near Kurnell and the whale sculptures designed by a friend, Theresa Ardler.
“This and two other bronze sculptures of significance to the Gweagal Aboriginal People were installed along the walk in 2020 to acknowledge the 250th anniversary of the encounter between Aboriginal Australians and the crew of the HMB Endeavour on 29 April 1770. It was wonderful to be out and about in the fresh air – so grateful for the opportunity to recharge and reconnect,” she said.
Karen Geldard from Human Resources spent the Wellbeing Day on a ladder, painting at her son’s house. “We had a family working bee!” she said.
David Sams from the Macquarie Business School spent the Macquarie staff Wellbeing Day with some furry colleagues. “A well-deserved rest for the Macquarie community,” he said.
Magda Poulin is a new team member in the Workplace Diversity and Inclusion Team. Last week was her first week and she was lucky to start with a three-day week, with the ad hoc holiday on Thursday and Macquarie Wellbeing Day on Friday
“Thank you for an epic first week – I ended it by taking my kids, seven year old Filip and nine year old Viktoria to the Macquarie swimming pools on Friday! We had a fun morning and finished our experience with a treat from the café in the Sports & Recreation centre. I absolutely loved the raw bar and my almond hot chocolate,” she said.
“Thanks to the Macquarie Wellbeing Day, I got to take the train from Macquarie University station and spent a fun day at Luna Park with my parents. It was the best day of this school holidays ever! ” says the son of Sharon Zhang from the Macquarie Business School.
Melinda Chadwick from Student Engagement, Inclusion and Belonging spent the Wellbeing Day with her dog Minnie, learning how to knit with a loom. It was slow work when Minnie thought her job was tangling the yarn!
Taylor Whipp from Group Marketing used the Wellbeing Day to spend time with family.
“I travelled down to Sydney from my home on the Central Coast to visit my Nana in her nursing home, see my parents, family pets and babysit my niece. It was so nice to have some extra time to see family and relax.”
Amie Law from the Dementia Research Centre spent Wellbeing Day doing something she loves – Pottery.
“No housework or babysitting duty was going to take the time away. The demand for creativity, although challenging at times, always brings that equilibrium of mental wellbeing back from our busy lives.”
“I started doing pottery three years ago as a hobby to challenge myself with something new. It turned out to be a life saver during lockdown. I realised the benefit to my mental wellbeing and it is now my mission to make pots for A World Without Dementia. Wellbeing Day reminded us to do something for ourselves. To me, that meant a day to strengthen my mental health and save my brain from ageing.”
“Thank you for the Wellbeing Day. I do look forward to the next Wellbeing Day in November .
Dr Natasha Magson from the Centre for Emotional Health took the opportunity to organise a family trip to Canberra with her partner, daughter, mother and mother-in-law. They spent the Friday enjoying the floral displays at Floriade, then followed up with a visit to the National Gallery and War Memorial the next day.
“We all had a ball – lots of laughs, and for the first time in ages, spent some real quality time together,” Natasha says. “As my mother-in-law rarely goes out, I think it gave her wellbeing a big boost too! The Macquarie Wellbeing Day was a win-win all round for our family.”
Back to homepage