Over the last year or so, mental health and well-being have rightly been raised to the top of the agenda in all areas of business and society. With World Mental Health Awareness day on Saturday 10th October, we share our top tips to help support mental health in the workplace, looking at ways to help reduce feelings of isolation and keep connected with colleagues whilst working remotely.
Getting set for the day:
Remember to move
Keep Connected
Now you don’t have a commute to work, that doesn’t mean that you should go straight from bed to your desk! Going for a walk, run, or cycle before you start the day can help you to feel like you have mentally ‘arrived’ at work. Doing the same when you finish your working day can help you to leave your work mindset behind and switch off.
Working remotely means that your communications with your teams need to change. With so many ways to connect, here are some of our favourite ways to keep in touch:
Create Spotify playlists which the team can listen to together or an online book club for everyone to read.
Start a company/team challenge that everyone can participate in, such as walking 100km during the month as a team.
Make time for non-work chats as you would in the workplace; we love to have a virtual coffee break during the day.
Remote conversations can easily be misinterpreted as it’s harder to read body language, tone of voice, and other visual and audio cues. Try to remember this when you need to deliver difficult messages or feedback. Challenging times call for greater sensitivity and kindness.
If you’re unwell, take leave and do your best to give an update or handover on urgent work. As a manager or team leader, encourage people to take time off if unwell and model the behaviour yourself.
Be clear about when your working day begins and ends. Make sure that your team and clients know your schedule so as to avoid being called when you have finished work. Having a clear end time means that you won’t be tempted to send just one more email!
Remember to take regular breaks and a lunch break as well – and move away from the desk.
At the end of the day, shut off the laptop and pack up – just as you would in the office. This way, you can clearly distinguish between work time and home time.
Support for others:
External resources available:
Being separate from your family, friends, and colleagues can make some of us feel isolated and anxious. Keeping in touch using technology can be a tremendous help to support during stressful times.
If you are feeling isolated or anxious, there is support available to help you:
If your business has remote workers and you need any guidance or support, please get in touch with Lodge Court.
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Disclaimer – The contents of this blog do not constitute legal advice and are provided for general information purposes only. We can only advise on the basis of specific client instructions and are unable to offer legal advice by email to anyone who is not our clients. To find out more about becoming a client of Lodge Court, please talk to us.