Working under the cloud of a pandemic has been an exhausting experience for everyone. We have thousands of dedicated Colties across our business who are constantly delivering for colleagues and our customers. Throughout the pandemic our focus has been on how best to support them.
This is why we’ve decided to give all of our employees three company-wide wellbeing days. The first happened last Friday, 11 June, with the additional two in August and October.
As a company, it’s our job to look after our employees. Taking care of our employees and their wellbeing means they’ll be more engaged, more productive, able to bring their full selves to work and be less likely to experience burnout. In its 2021 Global Culture Report, OC Tanner found that Coronavirus has increased rates of burnout by 15% globally.
We’re committed to supporting our people and this is one of the initiatives we have in place to do just that. We recently rolled out ‘Clear your plate’ days, a once a month; time for our people to cut down on internal and external meetings. It gives them the opportunity to plan, learn and do some admin, which means they can catch up on emails or focus on work that needs quiet concentration and disconnect from their computers.
The wellbeing days allow our people to take time to recharge, re-energise and refresh in whatever way works for them. Whether that is an adventure in the great outdoors, spending time with family and friends or simply curling up on the sofa with good book or film for company – it’s a day just for them.
From our first wellbeing day we’ve seen our people enjoying days trips out, getting stuck into home projects they would have otherwise put off, spending time with their family, children and friends, connecting with nature as well as spending time relaxing.
With the wellbeing days, we still want to be there for our customers and it’s unavoidable that some of our front-line Colties will need to support the business on these days. For these colleagues, they will get an alternative day so they can still take the time they need to rest and recharge.
The past 18 months have taken a tremendous toll on us all. Wellbeing and mental health are areas we will continue to focus on for our employees even on the path back to normality. Ensuring we take time to look after ourselves and reset means we can bring our best selves to the workplace, to our homes and to our loved ones.
Tessa Raum is Executive Vice President HR at Colt.
Colt Technology Services
18 June 2021
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