Dona Xu recognises the impact of staying active and healthy, building social connection, and changing her environment to maintain wellbeing.

Social media holds a crucial position in the Chinese market, Dona and her team contribute to crafting engaging content, and have a deep understanding of digital marketing trends, audience behaviour, and brand voice.

“Social wellbeing impacts our sense of belonging, connection, and our ability to build a supportive network. In the workplace we often feel more connected to our immediate team, and it is so good to expand that connection to other teams.

Breaking out of routine and being in different places is refreshing. We mix things up with our team-building activities from fine dining, to playing games. Being together away from work helps us feel connected, and I really like team building.

A few years ago, about 40 people from our wider teams got out of the city and went to Ningbo and stayed together in a nice hotel. Everyone was so happy, being in a different city. Many of us didn’t know each other’s names at the start, and it was fascinating to spend time together. Often people are so different to what you think they will be like. One highlight was eating beautiful seafood together! That was a special weekend, but there are many smaller-scale things we can do to help keep us connected.

In busy times, it can feel overwhelming. Work is such an important part of our lives, but we need balance to maintain our wellbeing. With uncertainty impacting many industries and markets here in China and overseas, I understand the sense of worry and I am always sad to hear about people’s jobs being impacted. People can feel lost and not know where to go. It is important to know that there are services and people there to help.

It is great to see Wellbeing topics expand beyond physical and start talking about overall wellbeing, like sleep, rest, diet, emotions, and the benefit of moving. I keep myself busy and active to keep my mind focused. I feel energised after doing morning yoga. I haven’t been able to make the time for it much these days, but I have changed my ways to include walking my dogs daily, taking the stairs, and getting to the park with my daughter, husband and dogs. I really recommend changing environments and I love taking the opportunity to go on an overnight stay and release stress.

Recently I took my daughter and dog to the beach for a night. It was an hour’s drive away and we stayed in a nice hotel near the sea. We took the bus, which was relaxing. It was such a good break – getting a good sleep, having a bath, taking a city walk, touching the trees. My 2-year-old daughter likes to touch everything – the trees, road, flowers, so she loved it. My dog was so happy, he snored during the night!

I really recommend people find a way to rest, connect and talk with others. Simple things like making Teams calls instead of emails when you can, can help build that social connection. It’s so important.”

Thank you, Dona, for reminding us of the benefits of social connection, rest and changing routines.

#ItsUpToMe to connect, appreciate change, and be social.