It’s that time of the year where the days get dark (far too) early, the temperature drops and for some, it’s a tough time of year. The weather plays its part as do the additional costs of Christmas and festive celebrations. What about your mental health and wellbeing over these long winter months?
There are many who are alone - or who feel intense loneliness at this time of the year. You may be fortunate enough to have employment but organisations are not exempt from the ‘winter worries’. For many, they are still recovering from the impact of Covid and many employees are still facing job insecurities or financial worries.
Mental Health First Aid England’s 2021 workplace interviews revealed that ‘47% of respondents said they were having more wellbeing check-ins from their workplace since before the pandemic’ - great news! But we can do more than just check-in!
Here are some tips from MHFA England that your organisation can implement:
Prioritise Wellbeing
Can your firm offer a ‘wellbeing day’ as well as annual leave to support employees? MHFA England lead by example, ‘Our wellbeing strategy includes two total office close down periods – a Wellbeing Week in the summer and one in the winter. The emphasis on ‘total’ is important as it means all employees really do engage in ‘proper downtime’.
Find out what your employees really think
Take stock of how your business has done for the past year with staff morale and wellbeing. Let your staff have a say in their workplace experience. Draw up an anonymous survey to really gauge how everyone is feeling and use the feedback to help you set your goals for the new year with your people, culture, and wellbeing projects.
Check-in regularly with your team members
Encourage everyone to check in with themselves on a regular basis by asking, ‘how do I feel today mentally and physically?’ and ‘am I using helpful coping strategies?’. MHFA England’s My Whole Self MOT is a great tool to use. This will help highlight loneliness, anxiety and stress and give the opportunity to catch this before it develops into more worrying issues.
Be emotionally aware of others
As the world opens up, some will rush back in - but others will feel apprehension and even anxiety with returning to social situations. Everyone is different, so find what works for you and be respectful of the choices that others’ make. ‘Forced fun’ is no fun for anyone!
New year, new you.
Put mental health and wellbeing at the heart of your strategy for 2022. No matter what else, it’s more important than ever that we look after ourselves and our teams.
It may mean changing priorities or simply listening to your employees more - but do something different in 2022!
We have lots to offer your organisation, from bespoke webinars or IRL sessions to accredited Mental Health First Aid training. Ask us for more information: ase@mrtconsultants.co.uk
