Tag: mental health

1. Live well work well

   April 6, 2022 4:10 pm

   The rising cost of living is affecting us all (and our bank balances), and it’s also having a marked impact on the employment market; driving more people to look for a new job.
   With more candidates looking to change jobs, employers are having to do more in order to attract the best candidates and retain current staff.

   Benefits packages
   Job hunting isn’t simply about salary and take home pay. Employers are looking for new and innovative ways to improve quality of life for their staff; from offering home and hybrid working options to free food and coffee, healthcare and gym membership. The list of ‘extra benefits’ on job adverts is escalating as organisations compete to attract and retain the best people.
   Supplying employee benefits packages is a growing sector in itself. Perkbox – a global benefits and rewards platform – claims this helps to keep each employee happy, healthy and motivated, and that employee experience and wellbeing is now more critical than ever.
   Promoting mental and physical wellbeing at work have long been recognised as the foundations for a successful business as happy workers are more productive and less likely to leave their jobs or take time off sick.

   Financial wellbeing
   However, in today’s cost of living crisis, organisations are also looking for ways to support the financial wellbeing of staff. With more people worrying about money (and bringing those worries to work with them) it makes perfect sense to extend wellbeing strategies to help staff cope with today’s tough economic climate. The CIPD even suggest that all employers should consider implementing a financial wellbeing policy to let staff know where they can seek help if needed.
   Home working options certainly reduce petrol and travel costs, but may in turn increase utility bills or create the need for a better home broadband connection. Some employers are even offering to contribute towards these costs.
   Many organisations are waking up to the fact that financial wellbeing amongst staff makes good business sense. Providing employees with access to free or discounted professional financial advice helps people keep control of their household budgets as the cost of living spirals. It’s all about equipping staff with the tools to deal with concerns around debt, savings or expenses; daily worries we’re all experiencing that could affect performance at work.

2. Feeling stressed?

   May 19, 2020 1:47 pm

   Its mental health awareness week, and there’s probably no one on the planet who hasn’t felt stressed at some point in recent weeks. No one knows what the future may hold and that means many people are feeling under huge strain at the moment.

   Financial pressures and concerns about job security are causing many to feel worried and anxious. Yet, despite the lockdown and the resulting uncertainty we’re all feeling, now may be a good time to consider your future career options. You’ve got time on your hands to research the market, hone your CV and take stock of where you want to go and what you want to achieve. Organisations are still hiring even during the lockdown so try and see this time as an opportunity rather than a reason to get stressed.

   Changing your mindset will help to change your stress levels too and hopefully result in an improvement to your general mental health.

   We have outlined some ideas and recruitment advice below that we hope will be useful in the current situation and will help you to turn your worries into positive actions.

   Consider your transferable skills – Many of the organisations we work with are looking for people who can hit the ground running at this time. If you’re looking to move departments or even careers, think about how your workplace skills and experiences can easily transfer to other areas.

   Hone your CV – there’s a lot of people looking to move or find a new job at the moment so that means every advert receives more than the usual number of applicants. Make your CV stand out from the rest with our advice articles on creating an outstanding CV.

   Use the time to learn – if you want to plug any skills gaps in your CV now is the perfect opportunity to undertake online training and research. Keep an eye on the industry and keep your eyes open for new opportunities, sign up to our jobs alert and receive all our latest roles straight to your inbox.

   Struggling to cope with home working? – read our useful guide on how to get the best from your home working experience.

   Don’t be afraid to move to the next level – the lockdown isn’t an excuse to stay in a job that isn’t fulfilling or enjoyable. We are still actively recruiting for clients at this time, so if you’re considering a move talk to us and see how we can help move your career to the next level.

   Choose to be positive – don’t dwell on the negatives, even if it feels like nothing is going your way. Take time to think about the positives in your personal and professional life. Consider your achievements and think about how your skills, experiences and personal attributes could be of value to a potential employer and could help secure your next promotion.

3. Are your employees struggling with mental health and work?

   February 12, 2020 12:04 pm

   Mental health in the workplace has been given a lot of airtime in recent years, and rightly so. Each year more than 300,000 people lose their jobs due to mental health issues when the right intervention at the right time could have helped them thrive. Mental health and work is something that employers need to take extremely seriously for the wellbeing of their staff and business.

   For years the stigma around mental health was a barrier to it being addressed in the workplace. But this is changing. Recent research has found that 88% of employers and 87% of employees agree that it is OK not to feel OK at work.

   However, people still prefer to discuss mental health issues with people outside of work than to bring it up with their employer. This raises the question about why and how you can help employees struggling with their mental health.

   A government report into mental health has given business owners plenty of guidance on how to address this, making wellbeing at work even less of a taboo topic.

   Here’s some of the actions employers can take from this report in order to make their workplace more supportive and understanding:

   Openness

   Employees with mental health issues will be much happier about discussing them if there is already a culture of openness within your organisation. Hearing senior managers discussing mental health in a positive way and pointing people to the support available will make them feel more comfortable about talking about their own feelings.

   Work-life balance

   Offering a range of flexible working options and even making it known that it’s OK to take time off when your mental health requires it, will help to create a positive working environment for your staff.

   Line manager training

   Make sure your senior staff meet regularly with their teams, offering one-to-ones and annual appraisals as well as an open door policy for those who need to speak ad hoc. They should also be able to identify when someone is showing signs of stress and know how your company can help.

   Employee Assistance Programme

   As an employer, you should be able to offer in-house or external support to your employees in the form of counselling and advice on a wide range of work and personal issues. These could be problems at home, a relationship on the rocks the worry of retirement or debt – all common life occurrences that can adversely effect mental health. 

   Being aware of your employees’ mental health issues will help your staff remain in work and well, increase their productivity and reduce presenteeism. It’s also an important recruitment and retention tool for top performing staff and will make you a more desirable employer.

   Ocean Edge offers recruitment consultancy services to the affordable housing sector. We have teams in London and Southampton who are ready to help you recruit to your organisation. Contact us at Ocean Edge by calling 023 8000 1153 or emailing info@oceanedge.biz