General
Published: August 1, 2024 | Updated: 1st August 2024
Helen Richards, a Royal Navy veteran and former PCSO, has launched a new business aimed at improving workplace wellness.
The Office Retreat, created in partnership with wellness expert Trevor Dias, offers bespoke packages including wellbeing webinars, health checks, yoga sessions, sound baths, and professional massages.
Helen, who founded The Little Calm Company, said the initiative uses evidence-based holistic approaches to enhance employee well-being with minimal disruption to the workplace.
The services are designed to integrate seamlessly into corporate environments across the UK.
The venture also includes The Online Retreat, a platform providing affordable wellness webinars to the public and charity sectors. This service aims to boost personal and collective wellness, making Helen’s expertise accessible to a wider audience.
Helen joined the Royal Navy at 17 and later worked for Hampshire Constabulary in Portsmouth, where she noticed the lack of support for colleagues dealing with traumatic incidents.
In 2017, after her husband medically retired from the police, Helen trained in massage and started The Little Calm Company with a second-hand massage chair. She left her police job, despite having no clients, to pursue her passion for helping others.
Within two years, Helen partnered with 90 companies to provide workplace massages. Over the past seven years, she has recruited over 50 therapists and worked with more than 320 companies globally, including Shangri-La, Aviva, Adidas, NBC Universal, and Gordon Ramsay.
With investment from Trevor Dias, founder of TIME Wellness Centre in Manchester, Helen aims to enhance the impact of her services. Trevor’s expertise and shared vision have been crucial in launching The Office Retreat.
Helen said: “The inspiration for these initiatives came from recognising a critical need for proactive well-being support. The journey here hasn’t been without its challenges.
“The pandemic hit and I lost clients overnight. Along with that, my husband came close to losing his life to endocarditis and woke up paralysed. After going through all of this, alongside having my third child, I realised how much of a desire I had to making a difference and I began providing webinars to clients on a range of topics.
“Our goal with these new businesses is to make well-being accessible and practical for all employees, regardless of their sector or background. With The Office Retreat and The Online Retreat, we hope to bring comprehensive wellness strategies directly to those who truly need it most.”
