A recent survey published in Raconteur, evidences the overwhelming impact the coronavirus pandemic is having on our mental health, with 72% of Britons worrying about the future. The current Lockdown 3.0 is no doubt exacerbating this further, with the added pressures for many of juggling working from home, with managing home schooling, on top of the ‘normal’ day-to-day concerns and worries.
For us at Wealth Wizards, the entire company has been working remotely since March 2020 (with the odd team meet-ups when restrictions were lifted). As an HR team, we have had to quickly adapt our weekly routines to manage these changes, ensure employee wellbeing throughout, and maintain business as usual.
Having an open culture, we have always encouraged employees to share their concerns with us, especially so within the last year. In fact, we’ve encouraged it more with regular check-ins across the business, weekly Townhalls from our CEO, and open forums for employees to raise any questions with their line manager, HR Team, or an executive.
We also encourage our employees to take the time for a “coffee and a chat”, just as they would if they were in the office waiting for the kettle to boil in the kitchen! It is far too easy to become absorbed in work and not take time out to check in on each other. Enjoying a “non-work” chat, especially when working remotely does wonders for motivation.
Recently, we instigated a “fun guild” which is a 20-minute weekly Zoom call based around a quiz. It’s accompanied by social channels on Slack for non-work subjects such as ‘dressing up your pets’. The “fun guild” has been a great way for colleagues who don’t interact with each on a daily basis to get to know each other better.
All this “fun” chat however, can often mask the concerns that may be troubling individuals. We recently took part in “Time to Talk”, an initiative run by the charity Time to Change, encouraging the nation to start talking about mental health.
Those who feel comfortable shared their personal challenges with mental health, also talking about what helps them to feel stronger, the idea being that sharing your story could help someone else overcome their struggle. We also incorporated a short meditation session as this is one of the activities from a recent employee poll we undertook, that several employees have embraced throughout the pandemic.
And with 23% of UK adults having a larger concern about their household finances since Covid-19 appeared, all our employees also have access to MyEva, our financial wellbeing expert to help them and their families budget for the future accordingly.
As the strapline for this year’s Time to Talk campaign says, it’s the power of small, and from this starting point hopefully we can all do our bit to help one another manage the stresses and worries of life this unprecedented period has brought about.
Learn more about MyEva
MyEva is a digital financial wellbeing expert designed to support employees with their financial wellbeing by helping to improve their financial situation with independent personalised guidance and advice.
To learn more about how Employers can support the financial wellbeing of their workforce, explore www.myeva.com, email linda.anderson@wealthwizards.com or complete the form below.
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