About a week ago an unusual thing happened. I stumbled across a tweet from a big company that made me feel warm and fuzzy. It was from Waterstones in Harrogate and they were offering to suggest books to customers self-isolating. They said they could make recommendations over the phone and pop them in the post. The message read like a text from an old friend. What was it people said about bookshops closing when kindles came onto the market?
In the current climate more than ever, big companies need to think and act like small companies. One of the ways you can do this is by supporting employees with their mental health. Some people will manage the transition to remote working easily, whilst others could struggle with loneliness, lack of routine and unceratinty.
Here are some tips on how your organisation can act small and make a big difference:
- Use technology not only to get employees working but also to get them connecting back in with the team. Set up a team coffee break to simply ‘check in’.
- Encourage employees to draw a line between work and home. Make sure they stick to work hours and understand they are not expected to be permanently ‘online’. Communicate this clearly.
- Suggest employees stick to a routine – especially exercising as it is critical to mental wellbeing. Sleep is also important. Communicate these wellbeing tips regularly and role model them.
- Be ready to integrate employees back into the office. Give as much notice as you can that this is going to happen. Recognise that lots may have changed in their time away from work.
The Wellness Project helps companies to nurture their employees. We provide on-line and face to face counselling supporting in areas such as returning to work, coping with family difficulties, fertility/post-natal struggle, imposter syndrome and anxiety and depression. In addition to talking therapy we also provide movement based therapies such as mindful yoga and walking therapy (walk and talk).
We help companies think small so that their employees can feel big.
