World Mental Health Day at SOLID
World Mental Health Day
Today marks The World Health Organisation’s ‘World Mental Health Day’. First launched in 1992, World Mental Health Day aims to ‘make mental health & wellbeing for all a global priority’. As we launch our 1% Better Every Day campaign, within which we are looking at small changes we can make to promote sustainability, now is a good time to look at how SOLID promotes good mental health within the workplace.
Implementing Positive Mental Health
As Marketing Manager, it is my job to create SOLID content, but as one of the newest members of the team I feel I am also in prime position to report back on how SOLID approaches mental health within the workplace. I joined the team at the end of April and, having been freelancing from home for a decade I have to admit, I was nervous to return to an office environment. Freelance working had allowed me the flexibility I needed after becoming a mother, if a child were off sick, I could work my hours around them, when there was a school play or sports day to attend, I could go without worry. However, it was also unreliable. Some months I was snowed under with work and other months I checked my inbox incessantly for the prospect of work, yet it remained barren and the foreboding feeling of ‘how am I going to pay my bills’ would begin to eat away. I knew I needed a more regular position but how, with two young children, could I realistically make things work?
Flex Appeal
I became aware of Anna Whitehouse’s (Mother Pukka) flex appeal some time ago, as the popularity of it spread through the parenting forums I had followed as a new mum on Instagram. Anna focuses on the importance of steering away from the regular 9-5 hours to adapt to fit in with busy family life. The Flex Appeal is not just about working from home, it’s about having the flexibility to leave work early to ensure you can get to nursery pick up on time, it’s being able to jump out of the office for an hour to watch a school play or take a child to an appointment. There is enough guilt as a working parent without added guilt coming from the workplace.
SOLID advertised their marketing position across social media, and it jumped out at me. It sounded creative, I would have the ability to focus on interesting topics and form eye catching content, they also claimed that they could adapt to family life and fit the hours around me. I applied but knew, come the interview stage, that I had to be entirely honest about my position. My husband works long hours, I am the ‘on call’ parent in an emergency, I spelled it out and braced myself for the reply. Could it be possible that the ‘Flex Appeal’ had reached this small market town in the Cotswolds? Absolutely. I needn’t have worried. With all the directors and most of the staff having children, everyone is in the same boat and the SOLID team adapts to fit everyone’s situations. Some staff members do a day or two at home a week, some finish early or start late to accommodate school runs. Personally, I work part time but am able to spread those hours over five days so that I can start after the early morning school drop off and finish before the afternoon school run.
On my first day it all felt a little too good to be true, but I can honestly say that SOLID have been true to their word. During the Summer holidays I worked from France, during half terms I have altered hours to do some full days and have others off to be with the children. I am not going to lie, there will always be juggling when it comes to being a working parent but knowing that I needn’t have any guilt when a situation changes last minute has been invaluable to my mental health. There is no Sunday night fear as I nervously anticipate what the week ahead will bring, I come to work and leave happy and know, thanks to SOLID, that I have the perfect work and home life balance. The Flex appeal approach may seem simple, but it makes a massive difference. That is why it fits so nicely into our 1% Better Every day campaign, it’s a small change that ensures the happiness of all staff members and I for one have seen my productivity increase because of it. The team keeps me happy, so I am keen to do my absolute best for them.