Trust issues: why we’re supporting our colleagues’ families this summer and beyond
Chris Brook-Carter, chief executive of the Retail Trust
Our wellbeing is impacted by what’s going on in both our work and home lives. And the opposite also stands: our work and home lives are impacted by our wellbeing.
This is especially true at this time of year, with families typically spending more time together over the summer and carers in particular feeling the strain of juggling six weeks of school holidays and various trips or treats with their own work commitments and the devastating effects of the cost-of-living crisis on people up and down the country.
This is why we have been working on extending the help we now offer to retail workers’ partners and children, alongside the wellbeing support already available to people in retail themselves; whether they work in stores, distribution depots, call centres or retailers’ head offices.
This means family members of people working for the Retail Trust’s wellbeing partners can also access up to six sessions of counselling should they need it.
To support those for whom the return to school in September feels like a very long way away, we’ve also created a series of resources on our website designed to help families improve their wellbeing together this summer and beyond, with plenty of advice and tips such as getting active, eating more healthily, learning a new skill or simply just reconnecting.
And we’re now working with our newest partner Kooth, one of the NHS’s lead providers of online mental health support, to provide even more help for children, as well retail workers up to the age of 25. This partnership will give younger people access to a wide range of online counselling and wellbeing support, from one-on-one sessions to self-help articles, forums, and discussion boards tailored to different age groups and moderated and approved by medical experts.
Colleagues can access and find out more about this help by visiting retailtrust.org.uk or calling our 24-hour helpline on 0808 801 0808 to speak to one of our trained advisors for in the moment support for themselves or a family member. And as ever, please do encourage your colleagues to use our services or reach out to us if you think your employees could benefit from the help that the Retail Trust provides.
