Mental Health and Wellbeing: How we’re Helping Our Colleagues
The last few months have been challenging for us all, and the impact of adopting remote working practices have created new pressures for employees and employers alike. As the boundary between home and work has become increasingly blurred, many of us have felt the need to ensure we’re consciously taking care of our mental health. And like any employer, TalkTalk is keen to make the wellbeing of its workforce is a priority. As a result, this week we scheduled a series of activities for colleagues, focusing on increasing mental health awareness.
As new ways of working become the norm, and many of us return to the office in some capacity, more and more businesses are adopting long-term hybrid approach to work. There’s no doubt that remote working will play a greater part for many business operations going forward, so it’s vital employers and employees are able to achieve a healthy work-life balance to protect their mental wellbeing.
At TalkTalk, we recognise that these new ways of working bring with them a wave of new challenges that may impact our mental health. As such, this week’s activities have been designed to raise awareness of these challenges, get people talking and provide the support and resources employees need to protect the mental wellbeing of themselves and their families.
The activity began with a fantastic presentation from Internet Matters, who shared their back to school resources with us. Dr Linda Papadopoulos, one of the UK’s leading psychologists, and online safety expert Karl Hopwood also joined for discussion around several topics, including how to support children’s wellbeing as they return to school.
We also hosted other sessions where colleagues talked about their experience of lockdown, and benefit from expert advice and practical tips on the importance of prioritising self-care and mental health.
And to mark World Suicide Prevention Day (Thursday 10th September), TalkTalk Business’ Managing Director, Jonathan Kini was joined by mental health awareness speaker Jonathan Stanger and Chris Brown, host of the popular podcast, ‘My Argument with Grief’, to talk all about the impact of suicide and share their personal experiences relating to this.
We are also proud to be also be organising a number of activities to raise money for the Papyrus a UK charity which carries out fantastic work in support of the prevention of young suicide.
For any businesses looking to discover more about supporting their workforces when it comes to mental health and wellbeing, there are many organisations that can offer a wealth of useful advice. The Mental Health Foundation provides a whole host of information and resources. You can access these by visiting https://www.mentalhealth.org.uk/
