Trust issues: School isn’t out for summer when it comes to supporting retail worker wellbeing
By Chris Brook-Carter, chief executive of the Retail Trust
It was brilliant to hear King Charles announce that mental health should be given the same focus as physical health in his speech to parliament this month, alongside a range of new government measures set to increase mental health provision in this country.
This is something we at the Retail Trust have long called for when it comes to supporting the mental health of those working in our industry. We think it’s always good to talk at work if it leads to impactful wellbeing conversations.
And even though school may now be out for summer, our work to ensure people learn and develop the right skills to carry out those wellbeing conversations in the workplace is only increasing.
In fact, we’ve run more than 200 wellbeing training sessions for over 3,800 colleagues in the last year to help both retail leaders and colleagues improve their mental health in their day-to-day roles, careers and lives, a third more than last year.
We’re increasing this support to give more people the competence, confidence and tools they need to meet some of the challenges facing the UK’s workforce right now; from maintaining the physical and emotional safety of frontline staff to breaking down the taboos still surrounding the menopause and domestic abuse at work, or simply helping people better prepare for the testing times we’ll all experience throughout our lives.
With 80% of retail workers telling us they experienced declining mental health last year, our CPD-accredited training courses are designed to provide the fundamentals of wellbeing, with practical tools people can put into action at work and at home.
Meanwhile, half of managers reported a rise in absences due to mental health issues, so our new 12-month leadership programme aims to equip them with the skills to manage the wellbeing of teams before people reach crisis point. This includes learning how to respond to struggling colleagues in a proactive and compassionate way.
And while summer may be the perfect opportunity to relax, refresh and recharge, with the retail industry’s busiest quarter now just a couple of months away it’s also an important time to ensure staff are being given the right support to help them cope with the mental health pressures that the longer hours, larger workloads and increased pressures this year’s festive season will bring.
We hope you do have the chance for a break this summer but please do get in touch with us if you think we can help your people continue to improve their wellbeing this year.
You can find out more about the Retail Trust’s CPD-accredited wellbeing training here.
