Sandra Holliday talks about how mental health is always a top priority at Choose HQ
Today, October 10th might be World Mental Health Day, but here in the Choose OH Head office, mental health and well-being are always near the top of our agenda.
As an Occupational Health specialist, we are frequently tasked with helping other businesses and organisations improve mental health and well-being within their workplaces. We can advise on programmes and initiatives, provide counselling services and support, as well as deliver training and awareness – and all with excellent results! But is it impressive if we’re ignoring the well-being needs of our team? At Choose Occupational Health, we think not.
So, what are we doing to ensure that we are practising what we preach?
Here are a few of the challenges that we face and how we overcome them.
- Size matters
Here at Choose OH, we have always sold ourselves as being big enough to have the expertise and experience, but small enough to provide a personalised and friendly service. We are essentially a family run business and because we are relatively small (with only 9 team members) we’ve gotten to know each other well, developing some really strong bonds and relationships. We’re all pretty good at keeping an eye out for each other and can spot if someone is having a hard time or is struggling. Everyone knows that they can talk to a colleague if they need a friendly ear and as Managing Director, it’s important to me that my team know that my door is always open. It’s good to talk and it’s a practise that we promote throughout the company. Unfortunately, being a small company also has its pressures. If a member of the team is absent, others may have to step in to pick up workload and this can add worry or stress. If your mental health is being affected by a colleague, it can also be difficult to raise the issue when you work in such close proximity. To combat this, we operate an open-door policy, encourage all our staff to talk about any problems in their 1-2-1 sessions and have great HR support on hand so that we can tackle any problems quickly and efficiently.
- Location, Location, Location
Although we are based in Carlisle, we deliver services across the county. As such, there is a real risk that team members who work away from HQ can feel lonely and out of the loop. I try and have regular 1-2-1s with all my staff and carve out regular time to catch up. We aim to have a debrief every morning which all staff can attend or skype in, if they need to, and we are currently working on internal communication initiatives to ensure that all our teams are kept up to date and feel part of our Choose family – wherever they are working! We have regular team events and activities out of work hours that everyone is invited to – and we are always open to new ideas and suggestions from staff!
- Boosting confidence – being prepared
We know that feeling qualified, prepared and supported to deliver a role is incredibly important to the health and well-being of our team members. We invest heavily in our staff and fully support any CPD opportunities, providing relevant training and skills boosting. We encourage networking, both within the industry and with other local businesses, so that staff can share their experiences and learn from their peers and colleagues. We want our staff to feel appreciated and confident in their abilities, so they can go out and be the best that they can be.
- Spaced Out
Physical working environments can have a huge effect on your mood and mental well-being. If you’ve been to our offices in Hartington Place, you’ll know what a unique building it is. With lots of different rooms, floors and break out spaces, we’ve made sure there are plenty of places that our team members can grab some quiet time, chat over a cuppa or vary their working space. We’ve got bright fixtures and fittings, big windows and we try and introduce as much natural light into our day as we can. We’ve even created a little outside area with hanging baskets where team members can get some fresh air, stretch their legs and enjoy some well-deserved time out.
- Team Building
Feeling part of a team is really important and we provide lots of activities to help build team trust and strengthen relationships – that way our team members feel confident that they can turn to each other for help and support during difficult times. To celebrate our tenth anniversary, we have launched our 10 in 10 initiative. We have pledged to do 10 group activities in our birthday year, all with a health and well-being focus. We have so far taken part in the Race for Life and others will include learning a new skill, team building, giving something back, wellbeing and fun. We’ll be telling you all about our progress and adventures in our monthly blog and on our social media channels.
- Community
Feeling connected to your local community is vital in terms of well-being and we have found that our staff get a real sense of satisfaction from volunteering and being part of the wider Carlisle (and Cumbrian) community. As a business it is great to be able to give something back to the area in which we operate and if our team enjoy it, it’s a win-win situation. We are active members of local networking organisations (including Carlisle Ambassadors), and we fully support and encourage our team members in any local fundraising events or activities such as charity races.
- Access to the outdoors
The importance of sunlight and fresh air cannot be ignored when it comes to mental health and well-being and while we can’t provide desks outside (and who would want them in the middle of November?!) we have tried to incorporate natural light and airy spaces in our HQ – see section 4. We’ve recently spent time as a team converting a disused yard into an outdoor chill out space and we’ve included a team Wainwright walk in our 10 in 10 birthday project! We are lucky to live and work in a beautiful part of the country with the picturesque Lake District on our doorstep. Lots of our team members have dogs too so ‘water cooler chats’ often stray to the swapping of favourite dog walking spots!
- Access to outside support
As Occupational Health experts we are lucky enough to know a lot of great local practitioners, have great links with professional organisations offering mental health & well-being support and access to up to date knowledge about where people can get help. We regularly circulate signposting information and new findings to our staff, as well as join support networks and training sessions; all the while making sure that all our staff know where they can get help to support their clients, their colleagues and themselves.
- Focus on the positive: Optimistic October
It’s easy to get caught up in negative energy and focus on all the things that we think are wrong with our lives. With constant pressure from the world around us and social media encouraging us to compare ourselves to others it can be tough to see all the good things that we’ve got going on. Here at Choose OH we love campaigns from organisations such as Action for Happiness who this month have launched the Optimistic October Calendar. By taking part as a group and having a team goal we find that these dark winter months have a little less challenge and a whole load more cheer.
And as for me? Knowing that my clients are well served, and my team members are fully supported is, in itself, a huge weight off my mind and a boost to my mental health & well-being. But when I’m really feeling the pressure I like to spend time with my family, get creative with some crafts, sing-along to some loud music in the car or get outside for a really long walk with my daft dog, Bess.
If you would like some advice or information about how to improve mental health and well-being in your workplace, please contact our helpful team on 01228 513687.
In the meantime, check out our top tips to improve mental health and well-being in our recent blog post:
http://www.chooseoccupationalhealth.co.uk/blog/mental-health-and-wellbeing-at-work-helping-your-workforce-to-be-healthier-and-happier/