Revolutionaries of Wellbeing
Right now, times are tough and almost everyone seems to be experiencing it. From my conversations with people leaders and champions like you, I know the challenges you’re up against.
Hi, I’m Sarah McGuinness, founder of Revolutionaries of Wellbeing (ROW) and a wellbeing expert with a background in psychology.
In 2020, I burnt out spectacularly, and recovery was a long road. As I shared my story across media and keynote speeches, I realised just how many others had been through a similar experience.
The human cost of burnout is too high – we’re losing out on the best of people and businesses, because of something entirely preventable.
With 57% of New Zealanders at high risk of burnout*, and similar trends worldwide, it’s time to make it seriously uncool to be a workplace where people burn out on the regular.
One thing that’s become crystal clear over the years is that the ROW community is extraordinary. So many people have stepped up – offering help, sharing insights, showing leadership whenever someone has needed it. The community is an absolute powerhouse.
And we’re better when we do things together, so ROW is now all about co-creation.
Co-creation is about shifting from “Here’s what I’ve built for you” to “What can we build together?” And in the ROW community, that happens all the time. It’s awesome. Now we’re rallying and mobilising our efforts.
Of course, the key to any movement is making it sustainable. We want ROW to be here for the long haul – and that takes funding. When you join as a paying member or work with us, you’re not just getting tools and support. You’re helping cover the real costs of keeping this movement going. It’s about backing something bigger.
So what’s our story?
it all started with a conversation
In early 2018, I (founder, Sarah McGuinness) was on a mission to interview 100 organisations around New Zealand to better understand the opportunities and challenges of lifting wellbeing across workplaces.
It was driven by three things:
1. My professional experience – Having worked in and with large organisations for nearly two decades in corporate communications, leadership development, and wellbeing roles, I’d seen firsthand what a difference a wellbeing-focused culture could make.
I’ve worked with leaders and teams that thrived and those trying to survive. The health and safety laws had recently changed in New Zealand, and I was living in post-quake Christchurch (New Zealand) so it was the perfect time to start asking those hard questions and challenging the status quo.
2. My Dad’s experience – He was a Chief Financial Officer of a large international company for 18 years and was spending his retirement undoing the effects of chronic stress. By then, Dad and I had many, many frank conversations about what he would have done differently. I was (and still am) driven to help others avoid the same experience.
3. My own lived experience – At that point, I’ve had my own mental health challenges with anxiety. I wanted to help normalise the mental health conversation. I’d also recently published my honours research on the eating attitudes and body image dissatisfaction of midlife adults, and was struck by the sheer number of biological, psychological, and sociological changes that happen during those crucial years of our work lives.
So, one conversation led to another, and on Thursday 5 April 2018, something small but remarkable happened. Four workplace wellbeing champions from NZ’s most recognisable brands met via Skype for the first time to trade stories, offer peer support, and be part of a guest interview with me, asking all the questions I could think of.
Over time, word got out, and the group grew organically. At the time, it was called the My Health Revolution Wellness Champions Network, and after some trial and error, the group settled on 6-weekly meetings via Zoom.
The uprising had started
By early 2019, there were 40 wellbeing champions in the network, and I tentatively put out a couple of posts on LinkedIn, sharing the group’s existence on a public platform for the first time.
The champions were senior leaders, HR professionals, health and safety professionals, wellbeing specialists, and subject matter experts.
By late 2020, the group had grown to nearly 100 champions, including a few from overseas. And by that time, guest interviews included author and clinical psychologist Dr Amy Silver and Dr Nathan Price at New Zealand Rugby.
Interviews were recorded and turned into podcasts to support capability building (and ensure no one missed out!).
Day-to-day, I was focused on my two businesses – My Health Revolution, a corporate wellbeing research and strategy consultancy, and Sarah McGuinness, a brand that provided information and resources to support mental fitness and self-care – and my mental health project, Take Care.
then, The world changed overnight
As the globe changed overnight with Covid-19, one thing became apparent – the champions in the network were some of the most instrumental people in how organisations coped with the unfolding crisis.
The champions led mental health initiatives, enabled working from home, contributed to business continuity, and supported wellbeing in as many ways as they possibly could to ensure employees had the support they needed.
What they needed was wrap-around support for themselves, and that formed the basis of a complete rebrand and refreshed focus for the ROW Crew (the team and me). By mid-2020, Revolutionaries of Wellbeing (ROW) was born. The name represented the passion and dedication of the people in the network – they are revolutionaries. There was no guidebook – and yet they were out there creating a better world.
reforming and elevating to meet the need
As part of the rebrand, the Sarah McGuinness, Take Care and My Health Revolution brands were amalgamated and reformed under one significantly improved offering – Revolutionaries of Wellbeing (ROW). ROW was officially launched in September 2020.
Of course, not everything goes to plan. I burnt out spectacularly in late 2020 (read my story in our media coverage), which was followed by a diagnosis of ADHD and fibromyalgia.
It took me a year to get well with the help of a number of health professionals, including a clinical psychologist. Recovery was a huge journey, but I figured I didn’t burn out for it all to go to waste.
Rather than see it as a setback, I became even more determined, using the experience to shine a light on the workplace wellbeing issues too important to ignore. It was also a steep learning curve, learning to take my own advice (!) …and it’s one of the reasons lived experience is a core part of our approach. Everyone here gets it. We’ve been there too. We’re not after perfection here – after all, we’re all human! Instead, it’s about progress in the right direction.
Evolving, adapting and what’s ahead
Since then, ROW has continued to grow, and we’ve had the opportunity to work with some incredible clients (get a sneak peek with these case studies). Of course, we’ve been through highs and lows too, just like other businesses trying to navigate this post-Covid world, marked by recessions and more. We’ve had teams grow and shrink, and navigated some very tough business decisions.
It has challenged me to continue to evolve ROW into something next level again. It’s about constantly adapting to the world we find ourselves in so we can have that collective impact. I just can’t speak highly enough of the extraordinary community that is ROW. Any time I’ve needed help (or anyone else has), they’ve been there.
And they’re from all over the globe! Canada to Ireland, Australia to the UK, UAE to the USA. Some people in our community have only ever communicated with each other online, and yet they’ve been there. It speaks volumes about these people and the passion and care they have.
And I see it, as the founder of ROW, it’s my job (it’s not really a job – I love this!) to create a place they can come to access support, ideas, and tools. And share and learn from each other – it’s what this community does really well.
So, where are we heading? ROW is continuing to grow as a global community and education hub. And this is just the beginning. We’re on a mission to break burnout culture – for good. We want to be both local and connected worldwide. It’s really exciting and we’d love you to join us.
Come and be part of our story.