Lynn Willacy, Employee Engagement Ambassador at Air Products has been talking to Safety and Health Practitioner about the most common challenges faced by staff and shares advice on providing support during this difficult time.
Lynn says that the Industrial Gas manufacturers were able to implement their crisis management plans early and the company’s business operations were adapted to a new way of working. One are which is hard to predict and plan for however is the impact that it will have on the mental health and wellbeing of a business’s staff.
Commenting on the challenges their staff were facing, Lynn said: “As a shielded worker myself, I know first-hand how challenging self-isolation has been. We were also aware that, on top of dealing with their personal emotions, many of our employees were having to manage relationships with our customers, some of whom were also experiencing very challenging times for their businesses. As a responsible employer, we take the wellbeing of our staff seriously at all times, but we quickly recognised that some additional support for those most affected, particularly our customer-facing teams, would help them build their resilience and focus on maintaining an empathetic and constructive mindset when dealing with potentially stressful situations.”
Air Products first set up a series of virtual sessions bringing together small groups of employees to discuss how they could support their customers and each other during this time. Around 220 people have participated in the online sessions, with issues such as working from home and the experience of lockdown prevalent issues that have affected people in many different ways.
Also mentioned was the importance of keeping to a normal working day routine where possible in order to separate work from social life, which has proved difficult for many, especially during the early stages of lockdown.
Air Products have been actively encouraging their teams to connect with each other over video calls- both for work and social conversations. Some teams have also set up WhatsApp groups to stay connected.
Lynn added: “Ultimately, what has become clear to me as I’ve been facilitating these sessions is that there is no single solution we can offer everyone to help them manage this situation. However, if organisations can be flexible, understanding and show compassion towards their colleagues, then that will certainly help to bring some positivity to this challenging situation.”
To read the discussion in its entirety please visit here.
Source: www.shponline.co.uk