I’m sure we can all agree that to some extent, the last couple of years have put a strain on all of us. Although we at Esker have not been hit anything like as hard as some other businesses, for which we are very grateful, we have not been immune: working from home means that we have missed the camaraderie of the office, and we all have friends and families who have suffered. With rising prices for fuel and other necessities and ongoing climate issues, things may not begin to get easier as fast as we may like. However, there are ways in which we can help make these current challenges more bearable and improve our wellbeing.
I’ve previously written about how Esker makes it easy to transition to working from home, but that is only the logistics – the physical and mental wellbeing of employees is of vital importance too. Some of this, of course, is down to the employee. For example, I find that getting up and dressed on days when I am working from home just as I would when travelling to the office, gives me some structure to my day and helps separate the ‘work mode’ me from the ‘lounging at home’ me. Other people may go for a walk or bike ride instead of commuting.
It’s become clear, though, that the employer bears some responsibility too. Here at Esker, we have set up a Wellbeing Team, of which I am a member, to co-ordinate activities to promote wellbeing. Not the compulsory team-building events of old, though: activities are entirely voluntary and are suggested and organised by Esker employees themselves – the Team’s job is to ensure that activities are spaced out throughout the year.
Although things have been disrupted by the winter mini-lockdown, so far we have had lunchtime ‘Come Dine with Me’ style events where the members of a department get together to make lunch for those in the office; lunchtime walks around Esker’s office in Spondon and Allestree Park (which is close to home for some employees); boardgames at lunch and chats over Teams. Future events will hopefully include go-karting and the rescheduling of our Christmas Party, which we haven’t been able to organise for two years!
More formally, one of our First Aiders has expanded her role to include mental health, so that employees have someone to go to if they have issues – both as someone to talk to, and to help them get assistance from outside agencies, including those provided as part of the employee benefits package.
At Esker we have a shared philosophy. Our Wellbeing Team is helping to promote Good Vibes Only. A positive work environment promotes better performance. We make sure everyone finds the right balance by respecting individual needs. Find out more here.
