Mental health and wellbeing are buzzwords that have become particularly well-used over the last couple of years. But as we spend around a third of our lives at work and an average of 90,000 hours throughout our life in the workplace, ensuring we’re as happy in the office as we are at home is essential! So we’ve been keen to show support for World Mental Health Day 2019.
But taking care of our employees doesn’t just make us feel warm and fuzzy inside, it helps build a more productive workforce and creates a more appealing place to work, attracting greater quality applicants.
However, at Approach we see taking care of our team as more than Friday afternoon beers, in-house snooker tables and duvet days.
First aid ready
One member of the team is being trained by Mental Health First Aid England and St John’s Ambulance to spot the signs if someone is struggling, action plans to deal with disorders such as anxiety and depression, guidance on how to direct people to the right professional help and how to deal with addiction and trauma.
Wellness aware
We recently introduced wellness sessions where each team member has dedicated one-on-one time with the MHFA to discuss anything that’s on their mind in a safe, confidential meeting. Everyone is encouraged to share any concerns or feelings, work related or not. Often a listening ear to offload onto is all that’s needed to relieve pressure and help people feel more supported and valued.
Our flexible friend
Flexible working has recently been introduced to encourage greater work-life balance allowing everyone to manage their daily hours in a way that suits them. For some that means being able to catch the later train in the morning. For others it’s the chance to finish early to catch a school event.
Being able to complete the working day around all our differing priorities and commitments has given the team a great sense of empowerment and control over their own working days.
Home sweet home
The team is also actively encouraged to work from home on a regular basis. Not only does it create a quiet space for off-site, creative and strategic thinking, but we’re also keeping track of the amount of miles we’re cutting down on by not making that journey into the office every day. The team is finding themselves in a great place to hit the ground running without the daily commute to contend with before reaching their desks.
All these initiatives were born from feedback from the team about what would increase their mental wellbeing at work, so while beanbags and games rooms are great fun, this office is finding wellbeing in the simpler things in life!
