Employee wellbeing – the state of employees’ mental and physical health, resulting from dynamics within, and sometimes outside, the workplace – is climbing the business agenda. And rightly so.
Last week, the Royal College of Psychiatrists called on employers to do more to support people with mental health problems at work. The institution wants to see more help for employees with existing mental health illnesses and it wants employers to do more to prevent and mitigate mental illness.
Around 16 million days of sickness absence is caused by mental health problems each year, costing businesses around £8.6 billion. But does it need to be this way? We don’t think so.
It makes good economic sense for organisations to invest in the mental health of staff. For every £1 spent on staff mental health, the organisation sees a £5.30 return.
But aside from the balance sheet, it’s simply the right thing to do. As Stevie Spring CBE and Poppy Jaman OBE both said at this year’s CFG Annual Conference:
If the charity sector can’t start the conversation on mental health, and look after its people, who will?
Investing in our own wellbeing
With this in mind, from Monday 15 to Friday 19 August 2022, the CFG team will be observing its summer wellbeing week. The whole team will be using this time away from work for R&R.
Wellbeing weeks are not like annual leave. There’s no pressure to hand work and projects over to colleagues before the out of office message go on because everyone is away from the office together.
Sarah Boorman, CFG’s Events Manager, has been championing CFG’s investment in staff wellbeing since the start of the pandemic. She says:
“I’ve been in the working world for nearly 20 years, with most of those years spent in the charity sector. I remember thinking how great it was when a former employer gave staff a day off on their birthdays. I thought, ‘Wow, they must really care about us!’ So, imagine the feeling when CFG announced plans to incorporate wellbeing breaks into our annual calendar!
“As someone who has periods of bad mental health, the idea of a wellbeing week sounded amazing, and that first wellbeing week back in January really was. For me, it was a quiet time to gather myself and find energy for the year ahead. I came back to work generally refreshed, full of ideas and ready to go.
“I’m now looking forward to our summer wellbeing break. I’ve no firm plans, but one great thing is that I know no one else at CFG is working. I don’t have to worry about the emails piling up or hundreds of Teams notifications. I can switch off, in every sense.
“I’m truly thankful that at a time when money is tight for everyone, and charities are doing so much more with less, CFG has found a way to look after staff and show how much we are valued.”
What will CFG’s wellbeing week mean for you, our members?
We believe there’s never been a more important time to champion wellbeing in the workplace. But we know that the world doesn’t stop when we do.
We don’t want our breaks to become a source of stress for our members. We are still here if you need us.
If your enquiry isn’t urgent and can wait until our return on Monday 22 August, then please email as you normally would. If you’re not sure who to direct your enquiry to, email our general enquiries inbox.
If you need to urgently talk to a member of the team, access advice, or discuss a matter, please don’t hesitate to get in touch with us. We are still providing limited phone cover for those times when an email just isn't quick enough. You can phone 0845 345 3192 and one of us will be there to help.
In the meantime, if you have any queries or questions, please don't hesitate to get in touch.
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