Employers must check in with employees to ensure their wellbeing, asserts Jake Welsh. However, it is equally vital for employees to be mindful of their managers’ mental health.
Speaking at the ‘Wellbeing: Unlock Your Business Potential’ event, Welsh, founder of a Manchester-based agency, emphasised the reciprocal nature of wellbeing responsibility in the workplace. “How often do staff members walk up to senior people and ask if they’re ok? They don’t,” he observed. “It’s always top-down – and in some ways that’s wrong because if the directors are OK, they’ll make other people OK.”
Welsh employs nearly 60 individuals and underlined the importance of mutual wellbeing awareness for a thriving business. He highlighted the impact of stress, anxiety, and depression on workplace dynamics, noting, “If your directors are in a bad mood, it transfers down.”
Co-owning the business with an ex-footballer, Welsh reiterated the need for businesses to adapt to increasing pressures and maintain an awareness of workplace wellbeing. He remarked, “People don’t just finish at five o’clock these days, it’s a 24-hour job whether you own a business or work in it.”
To foster a supportive environment, his agency holds monthly ‘cinema Fridays’ to bolster team cohesion. Welsh also referenced the emotional impact of losing a colleague to cancer and the establishment of the Mara Foundation in his memory, which offered a renewed perspective on workplace dynamics.
Welsh voiced concerns over technology’s detrimental effects on wellbeing due to its pervasive accessibility. He commended initiatives like the app for cutting off phone usage while driving, suggesting a similar approach might help lessen work-related stress. “You need to be able to switch off and people really struggle to do that these days,” he commented.
Stacey Copeland, a Commonwealth boxing champion, added that the central issue is not the technology itself but how it is utilised. “Tech isn’t a force for good or bad, tech just is, it’s people that are a force for good or bad,” she stated. Her insights draw from her sports career, emphasising emotional and mental wellbeing to manage the highs and lows inherent in both sports and business.
Chris Bird, CEO of a sports tour company, exemplified the personal motivations driving a commitment to staff wellbeing. He shared that his own mental health issues, stemming from a traumatic family event, spurred him to improve his employees’ health and wellbeing.
Among other notable speakers at the event were Joanna Rowsell Shand, an Olympic cyclist; Phil Jones, a managing director; Michelle Mellor, an MD; Russell Feingold, a CSR director; David Price, a CEO of a health-focused organisation; and Rachel Clacher, a co-founder of a business service company.
The discussion at the event clearly indicated that ensuring workplace wellbeing is a collective responsibility. Both employers and employees must engage actively to foster a healthy and productive work environment.