January 2024

10 January 2024 - "What I really mean is..." take time to have honest conversations

Time to Talk Day is the nation's biggest mental health conversation.

Taking place on Thursday 1 February 2024, it is a day that friends, families, communities, and workplaces come together to talk, listen and change lives.

For Time to Talk this year, See Me and SAMH are encouraging everyone to have more honest conversations about how they're feeling to help combat the stigma that still exists around mental health.

The theme for this year's campaign is 'what I really mean'which highlights that the words we say don't always reflect what's going on beneath the surface.

Get involved

• 'Having the Mental Health Conversation' Webinar- join us for this bite sized webinar where our colleagues at SAMH will provide us with top tips, hints and resources to help us have those all-important conversations about mental health -REGISTER NOW.
• Visit the See Me 'Time to Talk' webpage for more information, resources and support to get involved in mental health conversations in the workplace during the Time to Talk campaign and beyond.

Support for You

• Visit our workforce wellbeing support webpages for resources to help you look after your mental health and wellbeing.
• Visit Need help right now if you or someone you know is struggling and need urgent help

10 January 2024 - Our Bullying and Harassment Policy and supporting arrangements: reminder

We are committed to providing a workplace free from bullying and harassment, and we all have a role to play in supporting this.

Remember the 5 Key Steps to stopping bullying and harassment

If you experience bullying and harassment or see it happening to someone else:

1. Don't ignore the problem
2. Confide in someone
3. Know the policy and options open to you
4. Keep a record
5. Consider taking action

Support for you

There is a range of information, resources and support available to anyone affected by bullying and harassment.

Call our dedicated Employee Assistance Helpline free on 0800 247 1100, Webchat: pam-assist.co.uk, or email: counsellingteam@pamassist.co.uk where you can access free, independent and confidential support at any time of the day or night - all year round.

You can also chat in confidence to:

• your manager
• a trusted colleague
• any of our trained Bullying & Harassment Contacts , Equality Employee Support Network Contacts, or Service HR Bullying & Harassment Champions
• a Trade Union representative

External Support

Additional external support and advice is available from:

• Samaritans (24 Hour counselling service) -  Freephone on 116 123
• Breathing Space to talk to a specialist advisor - available 24 hours at weekends (from 6pm Friday to 6am Monday) and 6pm to 2am on week days (Monday to Thursday) - Freephone on 0800 83 85 87
• UK National Workplace Bullying Advice Line 0845 22 55 787.
• Hate Crime Scotland - Find out more about the campaign to combat Hate Crime and Glasgow's Third Party Reporting Centres at http://www.hatecrimescotland.org/

10 January 2024 - Free webinar for managers to support staff wellbeing : 23 January

Tuesday 23 January 2024

9:30 - 10:30 am

Overview

Managers have become more important than ever for ensuring work doesn't make people sick. However, according to recent research from the CIPD, managers remain the biggest negative impact on wellbeing, with one in two employees who have a poor manager saying work negatively affects their mental health.

This means the single most important thing employers can do to boost the health of their workforce in 2024 is to equip managers with the competency to manage wellbeing. Critical to this is equipping managers with an understanding of how they can impact on the emotional energy levels, autonomy and motivation of others and developing them to do this in positive ways.

We have developed a framework for upskilling managers to support wellbeing, which we are excited to share with you during this free training session.

What will the webinar cover?

During this 45-minute session (with 15 mins of Q&A afterwards), you will learn:

• How managers impact on employees' emotional energy, autonomy and purpose
• The role of managers for creating a culture of wellbeing for people to thrive
• How to use a wellbeing competencies framework to upskill managers
• Using management tools and data to catch people before they fall
• Ways to eliminate bias and help managers make wellbeing more inclusive

Register here

10 January 2024 - Get involved in Dry January: total reset for the body and mind

Dry January® is 31 days alcohol-free, a break and a total reset for the body and mind with Alcohol Change UK.

Sleep better and have more energy, improve your mental health and concentration, look fabulous and get brighter skin, save money and feel an amazing sense of achievement.    

Dry January® is about taking a break, living better, feeling better. Starting the new year right. Are you in? 

Get involved

Visit alcoholchange.org.uk and dryjanuary.org.uk. for information, tools and resources including the free Try Dry app, daily coaching emails, and an active online community.

Support for you

• Our Employee Assistance Provider (EAP) provides independent support to any employee affected by alcohol - it is totally confidential and free for you to access.
• You can chat to a trained advisor who will listen, talk things through with you and offer advice and support.
• Our staff health and wellbeing handbook - outlines a wealth of information, advice and support on gambling, alcohol and drugs.
• Our staff health and wellbeing resources guide  - provides access to free resources such as posters, leaflets and factsheets on alcohol consumption and drug use.

10 January 2024 - Be part of this change: small change creates lasting change

As we welcome 2024, we wanted to let you know all about Payroll Giving and how small change can create lasting change.

Everyone should be allowed to be part of this change. Charities are struggling at a time when people need their help more than ever. You may think that a small donation is not enough but when combined with thousands of others, it can create a significant impact.

Here is how Payroll Giving creates change:

1. Charities love Payroll Giving- the regular monthly amounts allow them to plan, ahead.
2. Tax efficient -donations are taken before income tax. Not only does this save you money, but it means the charities save time and money by not having to claim gift aid. Why not use our handy calculator to see what your donation will cost you and how much you can save?
3. Lasting Change -when it comes to giving, we don't just talk about change in monetary terms. We work to change the mindset around charitable giving. You can make a positive impact!