Tuesday, 7 April, 2020
Do you feel busy, supported, hopeful, relieved or positive?
Or perhaps you feel sad, angry, worried, confused, stressed, under pressure, anxious, depressed, lonely or vulnerable?
Perhaps you feel a mixture of all these things or flit between different emotions at different times?
Or maybe you feel ‘just okay’?
However you feel, we want you to know that it is okay. It’s good to feel okay but more importantly, it’s okay not to feel okay.
At Commercial Occupational Health Services Ltd (COHS), we recognise that there is so much indirect pressure at the moment from social media, some of it positive, some of it less so, and this can impact you in many ways.
Is it affecting your self-esteem?
Do you feel under pressure to ‘fit in’ or inadequate if you don’t?
Are you suffering from a lack of structure or routine at home?
Are you feeling unmotivated?
It is okay to have bad days and to not feel okay all of the time, particularly in the present climate. It’s okay to feel anxious, low or overwhelmed. You’re not alone if your emotions are all over the place right now.
As more and more of us juggle multiple plates under one roof – be it friend, parent, partner, carer, counsellor or lone worker, it can affect our sense of identity. Nothing has its own place anymore so it’s difficult to compartmentalise the way we normally would.
We are asking workers to take the time to check in on a colleague today and to ask them the same question. We will respond to comments with helpful tips and advice.
During a recent mental health webinar, Naomi Saragouissi, from the Employment Benefit Collective, suggested arranging a virtual lunch or coffee break with colleagues, or to buddy up with a colleague to help motivation.
Dr Nicola Dann, a GP, director and founder of COHS, said a healthy workforce means a healthy business.
“Within the current climate, our mental health and wellbeing is of paramount importance. We believe staff who are happy at work – whether that is currently working from home – deliver a better quality and more effective service,” she said.
“We want you to know we are still very much here for you to help support a positive working environment that encourages and enables staff to be their whole self, lead healthy lives and to make appropriate choices that support their mental health and wellbeing and that of their colleagues.”