Inclusion Round-Up | January 2023

Reflections on the post-festive season

Reflecting on January seems to be harder than reflecting on most months of the year. It is that time of the year when many of us are still recovering from the festivities, and still reflecting on the year that’s just past (which seems like a long time ago now!), as well as considering what we would like to do differently this year.

At a personal level, it is still the realisation that 2022 was an even more unusual year than the one that came before it. While in 2021 we were still feeling the impact of the pandemic on a day-to-day basis, it feels like 2022 was the ‘coming out of the fog’ year and dealing with the emotional repercussions of the in-and-out-of-lockdown days.

We must also acknowledge that January is what for many feels like a ‘hangover’ month. It’s the recovery after the excitement, the emotion, the stress, the sadness, and the ups and downs of the festive season. And we even have Blue Monday as a reminder of how difficult this time of the year can be (although we at Inclusive Employers have now adopted the more positive name, Brew Monday). And these are certainly themes that I have been picking up in conversations with my members over the course of the month.

I do have a sense that many of us wish to slow down a little bit this year, and that could mean different things for people. For some of us, it could mean giving ourselves more time for reflection. It could mean being more vigilant of and careful with our mental health. It could mean pacing ourselves so we are not ‘running on empty’ early in the year.

As I reflect on this, I am perfectly aware that life, work, stress, and events outside our control can easily take us out of that path, in spite of our best intentions. And yet, I encourage us to seize this moment of reflection and find some renewed positivity that things can be different.

For anyone at an individual level, you could reflect on: what actions do I need to put in place to improve my wellbeing and mental health?

And for employers, I encourage you to consider: what can you do just support your employees to achieve their wellbeing goals?

I could blame January for putting me in a more reflective mode, but none of this conversation is new. Overwhelming research shows that employees who are mentally healthy will perform better at work. But as we are constantly overwhelmed with worrying news about rising inflation, cost of living crisis as well as events that trigger personal concerns around different communities, we are reminded that the focus on mental health should always be at the forefront of the employee experience.

As this is a conversation that’s been part of the workplace for so many years, there is always a risk of it becoming performative. As you plan your inclusion and diversity strategies for the new year, have you really considered how they are linked to employee wellbeing and mental health?

The connection between identity and mental health

Another key moment of reflection for me over this festive season was the connection between wellbeing and personal identity. As someone who lives far away from my family, on a completely different continent as a matter of fact, I reflected on how out of touch one can become with one’s own identity when one is so far removed from it. While in my case it was around my cultural identity as Latino (which is a very broad umbrella term that will mean different things to different people), this disconnect can also present itself when it comes to other elements of a person’s identity, including but not limited to the protective characteristics. And that disconnect between a person’s identity and their day-to-day experience can lead to a negative impact on their mental health, especially if one feels that they cannot truly express parts of themselves that are core to their existence.

Is there an effort to build cultural awareness in your organisation? You may have a very culturally diverse workforce, and if minority groups are struggling to fit into the expectations of the majority, that could lead to one feeling disconnected from their sense of self and experiencing mental health challenges because of this.

In my personal life, I know that I had to do a lot of work trying to reconnect with parts of my identity that I don’t automatically ‘activate’ due to the environment I live in, but that is very important to my sense of self. That journey of realisation did not always come easily, as sometimes the mental health impact of feeling disconnected is not something that you understand straight away. One of the ways you can address this is to consider if there is a disconnect between your inclusion work and your mental health work.

Cultural awareness will be one of the priorities for the global work we are doing in 2023, so watch this space.

Focusing on mental health and wellbeing will never be out of date

Westfield Health published a report on the wellbeing trends of 2023, which states that “after another year defined by instability and constant change, we’re witnessing a level of anxiety around health and wellbeing not experienced for decades.” Research from BACP found that two-thirds (66%) of therapists say cost-of-living concerns are causing a decline in people’s mental health.

The Westfield Health report also shows that “as searches for diversity, equity and inclusion (DEI) hit an all-time high, employees are looking for an authentic commitment to inclusive workplace support.”

This continues to put employers under increased pressure to show employees that they take their wellbeing and mental health seriously. This is also true as talent looks for jobs that cater for their wellbeing needs. As an employer reflecting your responsibilities toward your employees, you may want to consider the following in 2023:

1. What tangible steps are you taking show commitment to your employee’s wellbeing? Despite the best intentions behind wellbeing initiatives, there is a risk of these falling flat if the foundations are not there from culture and company policy perspective. If you are talking the talk, you need to walk the walk. Consider how your policies and values support your commitment to employee wellbeing, and how these are modelled across the organisation.

2. When rolling out wellbeing programmes, consider how you can engage the people at the top so that commitment and messages are being role modelled from senior levels of the organisation. Consider how you can engage with leaders, which way too often are left out of this conversation – the irony being, because they’re usually too busy to look after their own mental health.

I have recently worked with a member on a leadership development programme, and as one of the modules of the programme we included a whole session on supporting employee wellbeing. This has helped empower managers to address and consider mental health not only in their own teams, but also to practise self-care. Consider how you can engage with leaders where they are at.

Remember that, just because they’re not talking about their mental health, that does not mean that they may not be struggling themselves – and it’s difficult to support to others when you are running on empty.

3. Is there a connection between your employee benefits and your wellbeing initiatives? Consider an audit of your benefits, or even an employee survey to understand what they would like to see and what truly adds value to the employee experience. It is not unusual to see organisations where employee benefits tend to benefit only certain groups, usually majority groups over others.

Consider how being more inclusive of different needs will also have an improvement over those employee’s wellbeing and their emotional connexion with your organisation. An equality needs assessment may be a useful tool to consider.

4. Flexibility will continue to be a key topic of conversation going forward, especially as employees make this a priority for them. Consider how flexibility speaks to your wellbeing and inclusion efforts.

5. Consider offering Mental Health First Aid training for your employees. Here at Inclusive Employers, our Mental Health training instructor Robyn Lewis is certified by Mental Health First Aid England to deliver training, and it is one of our most popular offerings. You can read in Robyn’s own words here about the positive impact it can have in your organisation. Having a network of mental health first aiders can help transform the culture of your business. If you would like to offer Mental Health Awareness training to your organisation get in touch with your account manager.

Finally, if you need any help or support in the topics covered in our January 2023 Round-Up, reach out to your account manager at Inclusive Employers who will be happy to help. If you’re not yet a member, we also have a general enquiries form where you can submit questions and seek support.