Three questions you should be asking to protect the wellbeing of your people
People who work in the creative industry are three times more likely to experience issues with mental health and wellbeing than the general population, and this was before we entered a sustained period of disruption and change! The working landscape is even more challenging now as some people are heading back into offices, some are facing long term remote working, and others, like the TV and film industries are heading back out onto location. Having worked in the industry for 16 years, I know first hand that the impact on mental health is a very real concern.
So in your next planning meeting, I urge you to consider these three questions;
Do we truly understand what our people are feeling, and fearing?
Whilst regular check-ins are proving effective it can still be challenging to get a true reflection of your team’s wellbeing from afar. Particularly if your teams are disjointed due to the nature of project work, or the variety of their roles - someone working from home, may feel very differently to someone going on a shoot.
One way of gaining invaluable insight is through a wellness audit. Carried out by a third party, they use surveys and insight interviews to gauge how everyone (including freelancers) are feeling, how they’re functioning and what they’re fearing – all of which impact wellbeing.
From the data collated you can build a responsive wellbeing plan that will best support the challenges and issues people are facing. Perhaps a sleep specialist is needed, or people need new skills to help manage all the uncertainty.
Do we have a structure in place to support people’s mental health?
Another way of understanding, and listening to the individual needs of your people is to implement WAPS, wellness action plans. Like our physical health our mental health also fluctuates, and WAP’s are a personalised, practical tool to help manage that.
The plan identifies, and lays out things like; Workplace triggers for stress; Early warning signs of poor mental health; What actions they want a manager to take. It’s a confidential form held between manager and team member and creates a clear proposal of what to watch out for, and how to act – on both sides. WAP’s are an excellent initiative from Mind, and you can find templates and more information here.
What actions can we take to actively improve wellbeing?
The Film and TV Charity's landmark research showed that 9 in 10 people in the industry have experienced mental health problems. Contributing factors are a lack of control on working hours, feelings of isolation, a culture of 'toughness' and an absence of support. These have all been exacerbated in lockdown, so it's more important than ever to find additional ways of developing wellbeing.
Mindfulness is one approach to provide people with effective and practical coping strategies. The training focuses attention on thoughts, feelings and behaviours, so you can manage them more effectively. The practices are also designed to help train the mind, and build resilience. If you’d like to introduce mindfulness into your company you could trial an app such as Calm, or for a more personalised, in-depth program try an in-house course.
A quick and simple way to encourage your teams to adopt a mindful behaviour is by introducing ‘moments of pause’. These are useful at the start of the working day, to kick off meetings, or if people are rushing from one task to another. Start with FOFBOC – feeling in to your ‘feet on the floor, bum on the chair’. This serves as an anchor in to the present moment. Then take 5 conscious breaths, noticing each sensation of the inhale, all the way through to the end of the exhale. This can be calming, grounding, and provide clarity of mind.