Loneliness at Work: The importance of employee well-being
From 9th May – 15th May, it is Mental Health Awareness week.
In this blog, we look at the unique challenges of remote working and its impact on mental health. What can workers and businesses do to safeguard mental wellbeing?
Mental Health does not discriminate, and it can affect anyone – regardless of where they work, how much they earn or their position in a company. It’s amazing to see that more and more people are opening up about their mental health – it certainly helps others to see that it is ok not to be ok.
This year’s theme is Loneliness.
Lockdown made a big impact on also everyone, especially those who had to isolate alone or were not in a great living situation. Feelings of loneliness triggered other mental health struggles with Mind UK recording soaring numbers of calls that they had never experienced before: The data goes to show that the impact that feeling lonely can have can be devastating, and the pandemic proved this.
Lockdown taught us that human connection is vital – from parties being hosted online; a giant virtual pub quiz being played across the country and family celebrations through windows. It is important that we do not lose sight of the importance of connecting with others now that the world is nearly ‘back to normal’. Let’s make time for each other – carve out time in your schedules to see loved ones, talk to your teams about the importance of mental health, but most importantly, check in with yourself and be honest if you need help.
Now that the business world is moving into a new age of remote and flexible working, businesses need to create ways to stop workplace loneliness. At A4 Plus, we encourage flexible working so that we can connect in person but also have the flexibility of working at home when needed. We are also exploring the possibility of making this a permanent change as we grow as a business to reflect modern ways of working post-lockdown.
Together, we can fight against the Mental Health stigma. We have come a long way in recent years, but we still have a long way to go.
A4 Plus’ top tips for combating workplace loneliness:
- Weekly visits to the office for the team to catch up face to face
- Teams chats for open communication when remote working
- Management check ins when remote working via phone call or Teams
- Reminding your team of your ‘open door policy’
- Arranging team days out or remote mindfulness sessions
