Mental health and Wellbeing in the workplace as a remote team.

It’s so important to look after our mental health every day. As a remote team - it can be even harder to keep teams connected and talking.

At Jadu, mental health is so important to us, and we’ll continue to focus on mental health in the workplace and how we can continue to support our team. 

Here is some guidance for our team:
Please note that this guidance isn't written by a medical professional. 

Get support
Everyone has mental health, and just like your physical health it can struggle. It’s hard to ask for help (even more so if this is the first time you’re doing so and you don’t know what to expect) - but it’s the most courageous thing you will do, and once you get the help you need -  things can get better.

Some things you can do at Jadu:
1. Reach out to Freya Lunn, our Head of People and Culture
2. Reach out to Dave Gudgeon, our Mental Health First Aider

Your conversations will be confidential, and both will direct you to the help and guidance you need. 

3. We understand that reaching out to someone at work might feel more daunting. So, if you prefer, you can go directly to Kate Jackson, an Occupational therapist , who works at Wellbeing Therapy Solutions.

4. We also encourage you to reach out to your doctor or various mental health helplines including (but not limited to); Mind, The Samaritans, Shout (a 24/7 text service), Better Help and more.

Have human connections
While remote working has lots of benefits, including less commuting times, gaining more hours back so you can spend it with friends and family or use the time for yourself to exercise or do things you enjoy. It’s also hard. Connecting with people virtually all day can be tough, it’s harder to read emotions and find that social connection. 

Make sure outside of work (now we can), see your friends and family. Or join a new club, whether it be a sports club, a book reading club - there are so many types you can join, check out meet ups in your area for ideas.

Manage your time
Often you may work longer hours when working from home, because you think you’ll ‘just get on top of things’ - next, it’s 7pm. It’s important to set boundaries between work and home - and that you finish on time. If you’re struggling to manage your day, why not look at your to-do list, and work out realistically what you’ll be able to achieve that day (this includes your meeting times and breaks) and write an agenda for the day. If your workload is too high, showing this to your manager in your 1-1 means you can evaluate what’s not working and look at what can be delegated, reduced (i.e. meetings/workload) etc. We know things change, and we might need to react to certain projects, but we can try!

Here is an example of how you might to this below:

9:00am - 9:30: Work on project ‘x’.
9:30 - 10:00: Meeting with ‘Tony’
10:00 - 10:10: Coffee break (move away from desk)
10:10 - 11:00: Work on project ‘x’
11:00 - 11:15: Email and Slack check, respond to messages
11:15 - 12:00: Work on project ;y’
12:00 - 1:00: Lunch break
1:00 - 1:30: Meeting with ‘Laura’
1:30 - 1:45: Email and Slack check, respond to messages
1:45 - 2:45 Continue on project ‘y’
2:45 - 2:50: Coffee break (move away from desk)
2:50 - 3:30: Continue on project ‘y’
3:30 - 4:30: Meeting with Team
4:30 - 5:30: Finish project ‘y’ and write agenda for the following day.

By doing this, it shows you what time you have around meetings and breaks to complete your work and if it's realistic. 

Take time off
We know taking holidays makes us feel happier! Taking breaks from work can help towards productivity, reduce stress and prevent burnout - and improve your motivation and wellbeing in the workplace. We encourage everyone at Jadu to take their holidays - it’s so important! Even if you’re unable to take a vacation, or staycation, taking time off at home and going on walks, day trips, exercising, visiting friends and family - can all make a difference! 

Use the resources
Our AXA Health Cover for employees provides you with access to wellbeing apps such as Thrive and also reduced gym membership prices. As well as private Occupational Health Therapy through Wellbeing Solutions, we also have mental health first aiders on the team. 

Exercise
Everyone should do at least 30 minutes a day. If you don’t love high impact exercise (guilty), there’s so many forms of exercise that you can do that doesn’t mean you need to break into a sweat. Try and go for a walk alone or with a friend, do some yoga, do gentle stretching - whatever you do just make sure you move your body!

We’re taking part as a team in the Mental Health Foundation’s 12,000 November step challenge to encourage our team to get out and walk. More coming soon!

Reduce screen time
Make sure that you have time away from the screen (we are staring at it all day)! Look at doing some other activities when you finish work such as reading a book, going for a walk, gardening, talking to friends or family (in person if you can) etc!

Create a workspace (if you can)
Not everyone has the space to create a workspace. But if you can - great! It’s important to set boundaries and be able to close the door when you finish work to disconnect it from your work day. If you don’t have the space, be sure to pack up your laptop - put it in a room away from sight - that will help you disconnect and not have a constant reminder of work.

Some resources we love:

Books:
Why has nobody told me this before - Dr Julie Smith
Good Vibes, Good Life - Vex King
Reasons to stay alive - Matt Haig
How to build a healthy brain - Kimberly Wilson

Apps:
Headspace
Calm
Thrive
Unmind
#StayAlive