by Tashko Mihaylov
Long hours, busy workload, and “always available” work culture has turned the workplace to one of the most stressful environments. 21st century employees are under more pressure than ever. In a world when you and everyone around you have constant expectations from yourself, maintaining stress levels can be vital.
After getting promoted last year, turning the workplace into a healthy and positive environment for everyone had become the main task for Victoria Blackshaw, 34, Event and Venue Operations Manager at Skills Matter. Her motivation came from her personal live and her experience and challenges with her own mental health which made her isolated in her 20s.
"I didn't really think it was ever an area that was talked about properly at work and I wanted to be able to support colleagues who might be going through similar issues,” says Blackshaw.
She started small with one-off events around healthy living and yoga classes but as she became more aware of the importance of wellbeing at work and mental health, she decided to create regular activities around national campaigns (Time to Talk Day, Global Mental Health Day, Earth Day), and from recently, she has support and input from the Wellbeing Committee which splits in four areas - mental wellness, internal activities, sports, and environment. Blackshaw founded the Committee with the idea that numbers have more power and involving colleagues who have a real passion for these areas, can help embed a wellbeing-at-work mindset across the whole company, and driving successful, impactful initiatives, will benefit more and more employees over time.
“I believe we’ve achieved a lot in the past few months at the Wellbeing Committee - regular classes, environmental initiatives, healthier food options,” says Charlotte Guest, 24, a Environmental representative for the Committee.
Blackshaw says that as we start to acknowledge that positive mental health is as equally important as good physical health, and we become better at discussing this openly in the workplace, it will create a more authentic space for employees to grow in.
“It also sheds light on important issues that affect a large majority of us, and can provide us with information to cope better. My job satisfaction has also increased since I've started to be more mindful at work, and have prioritised a healthy work-life balance.”
Blackshaw believes that it's a company's responsibility to create a safe and healthy work environment for their staff, and depending on the day-to-day demands of the business, to find the best way to implement mindful workplace activities when possible - be this with an employee assistance programme, mental health awareness, wellbeing initiatives, mindfulness, healthy eating, physical fitness - to help support a healthy workforce.
These days, there are a multitude of ideas companies can run with to support the health of their employees, so you can start small (and free, if there is little budget), and gauge what your staff might like.
Together with the her team (Event and Operations) and the Wellbeing Committee, Blackshaw has also help minimise the use of single-use plastics wherever possible.
“We’re conscious of our recycling streams, and our bar offering is fully recyclable and cutlery compostable, and we've swapped our washing up products to more environmentally friendly options too,” she says.
Blackshaw receives a positive feedback from her team and the employees of Skills Matter.
“I've really enjoyed our regular Yoga and meditation sessions and found they make a great addition to my working week. Most importantly, just knowing my manager gets and understands how important our mental health is, is really comforting. It means we can all be ourselves in the one place we spend most of our time in,” says Savana Vezzoni, 24, Events Coordinator.
