?Colored Months?: How Brazilian companies draws employees' attention to problems (and teaches them how to deal with them)

I am working in different markets - Europe, Asia and Latin America and I am studing the specifics of HR communications in each region. And I want to tell you about one of the interesting features of internal (and external) communications in Brazil, which is very popular here, but I have not seen it before in other countries. It is the tradition of “Colored Months”.? It turns out that each month here has a different color or even several colors that paint the symbol of these promotions - a ribbon.

You may have seen Avon's “Together Against Breast Cancer” campaign before. And I was pleased to learn that this is a significant tradition in Brazil.?

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What is the meaning of “colored months”

There are many topics in our society, especially health-related ones, that are important to discuss in order to know and take preventive measures. But in normal life, we hardly (thankfully) have a reason to talk about it. But if we draw attention to it, there will be an opportunity for dialog and discussion. This is one of the important features of society in Brazil (and in LatAm in general) - constant open discussion on the most important topics.? Especially since the focus on health is one of the important priorities in these countries.

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Examples of “colored months”

? White January: caring for mental health.

? Orange February: leukemia awareness.

? Blue March: colorectal cancer prevention.

? Blue April: autism awareness.

? Yellow May: preventing traffic accidents.

? Red May: hepatitis prevention.

? Red June: blood donation awareness.

? Yellow July: bone cancer and viral hepatitis awareness.

?Golden August: raising awareness about breastfeeding.

? Yellow September: suicide prevention and mental health care

? Pink October: breast cancer awareness.

? Blue November: prostate cancer prevention and care.

? Orange December: fighting skin cancer.

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What companies are doing during these "colored months"

All companies get involved in supporting these “color months.” They become one of the central themes for internal communications each month. It just so happens that I only got into a few HR chats in August: a space where colleagues exchange ideas, ask questions, share vacancies and useful information.?In August, I noticed that the question “What will you do for Yellow September (Setembro Amarelo)?” started to be actively asked. I had to google what it was all about: because it was new for me.

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Below I want to talk about the ideas that companies are implementing as part of their internal communications. I think this is a great example of what can be done for the community and help employees take care of themselves as well as theirfamilies. I would like to point out that the activities can even take place in schools, where children are given interactive lessons on the themes of the month.

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Yellow September: fight against suicide and focus on mental health

On September 10, WHO (World Health Organization) established the World Suicide Prevention Day. This topic, and mental health in general, is becoming a topic of discussion.

So according to the Brazilian Society of Pediatrics (SBP), every year in Brazil about 1000 children and adolescents between 10 and 19 years old commit suicide. And so companies try to talk about both the causes that can lead to it, important signs and of course prevention and support measures.

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Here are the ideas I've seen for this month:

?? Focus on praise: special programs where employees praise each other

?? Distribution of sunflower seeds and/or sunflowers with the message of being a light in the lives of others: sunflowers turn to each other on cloudy days, looking to each other for energy

??Interactive program to support mental health in the format of a marathon with training and informational activities, as well as mastering different practices by employees

?? A special event in the company when employees come dressed in yellow or are given yellow T-shirts.

??Distribution of special positive messages from the company

?? Meetings and talks, lectures from experts in the field of mental health

??Attention to the topic of physical activity and health care as a factor that also affects mental wellbeing

??Publication of lectures, a selection of books, videos or podcasts on the topic of mental health.

It is also common to set up special stands in the office to talk about or focus on the topic in a creative format

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Ahead of “Pink October”: ideas for communications

?“Pink October” is a worldwide movement to raise awareness about breast cancer prevention.

It is usually a month that a company devotes to supporting both its female employees and family members (wives, moms).

What companies do:

? Organize meetings with doctors and specialists and special lectures

? Organize preventive check-ups for female employees and family members

? Share videos of stories of illness and overcoming it with prevention messages.

? Organize campaigns to support NGOs that address similar issues

? Distribute breast cancer prevention informational materials and/or checklists to all employees;

? Decorate offices with pink balloons and put a prevention-related tip in each balloon.

? Hold roundtables on the topic of health care

? Conduct quizzes on the month's theme to see what employees have memorized

? Give out pink T-shirts or accessories to employees

? Make displays of photos of women who have survived breast cancer (this is often accompanied by a message such as “Self-examination saved me. Do it too!");

I think that these amazing ideas and traditions that I first saw so vividly in Brazil can be adopted by any company in any country in the world and it will be a great addition to your employee wellbeing program.