Checking in on our family, friends and colleagues is always a good thing to do but as the coronavirus pandemic continues, this is more important than ever. World Mental Health Day took place on Saturday giving us a timely reminder to check in with those around us and to consider our own well-being too. The initiative is designed to raise mental health awareness and to help those who are affected.

Once a difficult subject to discuss in many work places, we fully back a more open approach to mental health, well-being and supporting our colleagues.

From the initial restrictions enforced back in March, to our staff continuing to work from home, the well-being of our colleagues remains a priority. If we as individuals are able to live life well, it in turn allows us to serve our partners and customers better.

We’ve taken a number of steps to help our colleagues work safely at home, by focusing on monitoring well-being and productivity, providing access to resources and tools to manage the isolation, creating a flexible working day, particularly for employees with children or home-schooling responsibilities. Some thrive in a home working environment; others find it more challenging – we’ve tried to introduce workable options for all.

We’ve deliberately increased communication to keep our colleagues engaged and connected with each other using technology to help us with this interaction - to remain connected more than ever and to help our teams to work to the best of their ability.

Over the coming days we are holding additional activities to help the well-being of our staff including mental health awareness masterclasses and mindfulness sessions.

Whatever our exact personal circumstances, many feel worried about the ongoing coronavirus pandemic, and everyone will feel differently about the changes to lockdown restrictions either being currently enforced or those that may be implemented going forward.

The following link provides some useful tips on how to maintain good mental health in these testing times: https://www.mentalhealth.org.uk/coronavirus/mental-health-tips