On national Time to Talk Day, Hannah Holt tells Toy World how wellbeing can be supported in the workplace.
Hannah Holt spent well over a decade working in licensing. “I have so many fond memories of the licensing industry,” she told Toy World. “I spent 15 years of my life surrounded by wonderful people, worked on some amazing brands, from Vegas to ExCeL; and I’ve experienced all the highs and the lows.”
Hannah recognises that the fast pace of industries such as licensing and toys can lead to stress and overwhelm as individuals juggle budgets, approvals, sell through and delivery dates. “That is why, in 2016, I left to pursue a career in health and wellness,” she explained.
“I had always had a passion for physical fitness but it was the mind and body connection that I wanted to explore after personally experiencing challenges with my own mental health. After qualifying, I worked for a yoga startup, before joining Birch Community as head of Wellness, an operational role responsible for running the wellness space of a private members club and hotel. My time at Birch gave me exposure to supporting employees with wellness workshops, which opened my eyes to what really brought me joy – and that was to help others feel good.”
Hannah now supports businesses with mindset workshops that have been designed to give employees the tools they need to significantly improve the way they live their lives. “This is acheived using gratitude meditation, breathwork and reframing skills that significantly contributed to my own personal transformation,” added Hannah. “All of my workshops support lowering stress levels and encourage the importance of prioritising our health, making time to rest so we can recover and be the best version of ourselves when we step into our work environment.”
Hannah would love to hear from anyone in the licensing and toy industry that could use her help. “I was very fortunate to work with Jazwares recently, which has a wonderful wellbeing programme lead by Samantha Bourne. I held two workshops at the company’s London office, both of which left the team feeling supported, particularly in the lead up to Toy Fairs in January.”
If organisations are concerned that their teams are feeling overwhelmed or have been meaning to organise a wellbeing event and are not sure where to start, or just want to do something nice to say thank you, Hannah would love to help. She can provide courses, workshops or 1:1 coaching.
“If you are experiencing stress don’t let it become burnout, life is really too short, there are ways to support yourself and I can be one of them,” she added.
For more information, visit Hannah’s website here or email hannah@hannahholt.co.uk. There’s also more on Instagram, Facebook and LinkedIn, at @hannahholtmindset.
Time to Talk Day 2023 takes place today, 2nd February, run by Mind and Rethink Mental Illness, in partnership with the Co-op and with support from Time To Change Wales, See Me and Change Your Mind/Inspire. For ideas on how to take part, from organising an event to simply sharing information on social media or texting a friend, visit the website here.
