 Wellbeing in February
Spring is starting to show itself in our gardens and parks - hurray!
 Grow and strengthen your resilience
Resilience is the set of attitudes tools, skills and practices that help us to make the best of things and bounce back from difficult or stressful times. The College of Wellbeing offers free videos, and its sister site offers free resilience tools and a (£30) 3 hour online course that you could work through together as a team.
Set yourself some new and positive intentions
Intentions help you find a sense of purpose and direction that's different from defining specific goals by asking you to reflect on things like -
- What do I really want…?
- What do I most care about...?
- What are my priorities…?
Green Space Coaching offers thought-provoking blogs and free resources.
Set up Employee Resource Groups (ERGs)
Employee Resource Groups (ERGs) are voluntary, employee-led groups aligned with organisational mission, values, goals, business practices, and objectives.
Depending on what you're trying to achieve, group members can be invited from one demographic (ethnicity, age, gender), be focused on a topic (wellbeing, home working) or be a mixed and inclusive group of staff. Outcomes from ERGs include-
- People feeling connected within and to the organisation
- Easing the potential loneliness, isolation and detachment of remote working
- Facilitating conversations between different teams and build cross-functional networks
- Ensuring that the perspectives of a diverse workforce and professions/ specialisms/departments (and customer base) are heard and can be used to develop strategies, services and products
- Easing and speeding new employees into their role and organisation, build their networks and maybe even start to make some friends
- Sharing knowledge and experience between older/long-standing and younger/newer staff and help establish succession plans and business resilience
- Keeping management in touch with the breadth of their workforce (and customers) – ‘shadow boards’ can help here as well
Take care of mental health
 New research commissioned by the government found that 49% of respondents felt that the pandemic has impacted negatively on their mental health and wellbeing (53% women/45% men). Of those surveyed, significant proportions of the population said they had been experiencing:
- more anxiety (46%)
- stress (44%)
- sleep problems (34%)
- low mood (46%).
The most common reasons people gave were - missing friends and family (57%), uncertainty about the future (53%), worries about family’s safety and health (53%), loneliness (33%) and financial and employment worries (27%).
Better health resources - Do something now to make inside feel better and to run an internal campaign, Better Health Campaign Resources
Exercise, gardening, reading and arts & crafts help us thrive more than doing things online... Find out which activities do and don't help us cope during lockdown
Getting Moving helps us feel good as well as keep our physical body strong and functioning - Information and encouragement from the Mental Health Foundation
Keep Learning - being curious is part of being human, so if you want to stretch your mind and learn something new, browse through the 1,000+ free courses offered by Open University Open Learn.
Advice and support from Mind - Coronavirus and Mental Wellbeing
Ask for ANI
Reducing the wall of silence surrounding domestic abuse makes it easier for those being abused to find help.
In the government’s Social and Economic Cost of Domestic Abuse Report 56% employers said that domestic abuse leads to absenteeism and 54% said it impacts quality of work.
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The Employers Initiative on Domestic Abuse provides a Charter, casestudies resources, advice, and a network of more than 470 large and small employers (including John Lewis, Uber, Sainsbury’s, Boots and the BBC) committed to supporting those affected by domestic abuse. Resources include 3 very short ‘Look Twice’ videos to help recognise signs of coercive control, financial abuse and emotional abuse.
In January the government launched a new Abuse Codeword Scheme.
‘Asking for ANI’ (Action Needed Immediately) in a local pharmacy makes it easier for those at risk to discreetly signal that they need help and access support.
Be friendly this February
'Try to be a rainbow in someone else's cloud' Maya Angelou
A month of small friendly rippling actions that will deepen your sense of connection, and leave everyone feeling brighter, ‘seen’ and less alone. Try -
- Showing an active interest by asking questions when talking with others
- Sending a friendly message of support to a local business
Support your business and your staff
Discover how other organisations are adapting Rebuild from Be The Business shares real time experiences of a diverse range of organisations and businesses. Free webinar for business leaders on February 12 from What Works Wellbeing
National Careers Service Workshops are FREE for adults 19+(18 if on benefits) for information, advice and guidance relating to work or learning. Click for job related courses or call 013 2959 9169 for 1-2-1 appointments.
National Apprenticeship Week 8-12 February - apprenticeships are for everyone - all levels, all ages and all professions. Find out more.
Become an Age Friendly Employer – thinking about the needs of your older staff will make you a better employer for all your staff
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