How Bristol employers can become leaders in workplace wellbeing

Education, self-empowerment, listening and creating safe spaces were some of the lynchpins highlighted to help foster positive wellbeing in the workplace.

“We teach people how to lift a box in a workplace, but we don’t teach people how to have a conversation,” said Jess Borthwick of Changes Bristol during an animated and insightful panel discussion on burnout and mental health.

Hosted by Bristol24/7 Editorial Assistant Safiya Bashir, the free virtual event took place on Thursday with the aim of promoting positive action and helping businesses lead the way in fostering a healthy, productive workforce and avoiding workplace burnout.

Held during Mental Health Awareness Week, the first event in the Bristol24/7 Presents 2021 series included an expert panel, featuring Jess Borthwick of Changes Bristol, Bianca Jones of EDP Training, Camilla Rigby, the co-founder of Women’s Work Lab and Daisy Roach the head of HR for Better Food.

Watch the event in full here:

“Employers need to make a safe space for employees where it’s possible to share open and honest conversations around mental health,” said Safiya, kicking off the hour-long discussion.

Some of the challenges currently faced included the feelings of insecurity, isolation and inequalities exacerbated by the impact of Covid-19, as well as the increase in domestic abuse and struggles around parenting and juggling work at home.

Highlighting concerns around domestic abuse, Camilla said: “If you’re not living it you don’t really understand, but going to work for a lot of women is a safe space and when someone’s been away from that for a long time, the knock-on effect on mental health is a big one.”

Jess said the number of people using Changes Bristol’s support services has tripled since the outbreak of the pandemic.

“Working from home has its pros and cons as we’ve discussed,” said Jess. “The problem is not that they’re always at home but that they’re always at work.”

For Daisy, the challenges are different as her staff were still having to go into work throughout. She said: “We can’t get away from the fact that everyone in the world is living through this mass trauma of Covid and everyone will respond differently.”

On advice for employers, Bianca said: “It goes back to giving people a safe space to have a conversation – it’s OK to not be OK.”

Some of the tools she uses to help companies support their staff include regular anonymous surveys, advocating education and empowering people to look after their own mental health.

Bianca also highlighted the disproportionate impact Covid has had on some groups and how, for some, it has piled on top of existing inequality and systemic racism. She said there is a need for culturally competent training around mental wellbeing.

“The Black Lives Matter movement comes in the wake of 400 years of oppression and racism so I do a lot of training to help everyone in a company get to a baseline of understanding,” said Bianca.

“We do need to acknowledge the disparities that have been caused by systemic racism.”

Bianca said added ‘stressers’, such as tokenism, feeling used, gaslighting and being treated differently or unfairly can lead to what she calls “racism burnout”.

In addition, it was acknowledged that other groups have also been disproportionately impacted, including members of the LGBTQ+ community, single mums, young people and more.

Looking at how we can capture and build on some of the positives, including improved accessibility for people with disabilities, Camilla said: “There are elements of changes that I hope will help reduce social inequalities. Some workplaces have become more accessible and I think that’s a really positive thing.

“It’s around treating people as individuals and speaking to them and finding out what’s going to work for them.”

She said having flexible policies will be crucial for companies going forward, adding: “Don’t go back to normal, whatever normal was.”

Looking at some of the innovative solutions and practical steps employers can take to foster good mental wellbeing, it was agreed that prevention is better than cure.

Daisy urged companies not to lose the momentum and to sustain the increase in awareness around mental health that has arisen since the start of the pandemic. She added: “Having mental health first aiders shouldn’t be optional anymore.”

Building on this, Bianca said: “It’s vital that workplaces do have mental health first aiders in place but also it shouldn’t just fall on them.” She said the awareness and understanding needs to run through the company so that everyone can listen, support and signpost colleagues who are struggling.

Look out for all of the events in the Bristol24/7 Presents series coming up this year.

The next virtual event focuses on how Bristol’s innovators can fast forward the city’s economic recovery, taking place on Thursday, July 8. Register for the free event via www.eventbrite.co.uk/e/how-bristols-innovators-can-fast-forward-our-economic-recovery-tickets-150551673107.

Main image taken from live stream

Read more: Meet the experts behind Bristol24/7’s burnout and mental wellbeing event