The Wright Angle - With Lorna Marshall

We held the Embedding Positive Mental Health Culture in the Workplace event in January. It was originally going to be an in-person event but was moved to Zoom due to the COVID situation.

Working Well and the HR Forum had the idea in November, to look at something that would support our local workplaces, with having the confidence to look at and assess what they currently do to support their workplace mental health culture, and whether it is time for a re-fresh/change in practices.

We also wanted to recognise that January can be a difficult month, mixed with the aftermath of the Christmas period, the on-going COVID situation and the pressures of ‘Blue Monday’ – which almost gives people the expectation that they should be feeling ‘low’.

The session had 31 people attend and represented 21 businesses. On the back of the session, we have had a number of attendees enquire about Mental Health First Aid Training and the ISO 45003.

This kind of interest demonstrates that there is a hunger for workplaces to better their mental health strategies. Evolving Mindset CIC can offer guidance and support to workplace strategies, and they also have some free 6 week wellbeing programmes for individuals to tap into. Visit their website to find out more about what they do: Evolving Mindset | Mental Health CIC | Liverpool Merseyside

Phil Noon, of Evolving Mindset shared a fantastic quote with us; ‘If you’re working in a factory and one of your parts have an issue, you invest in it to make it work again better, so if a person in your workplace has an issue, invest your time to support them, and soon your machine will work better again.as every mechanism in the workplace is important’

During the last 2 years there have been increased pressures on workplaces adapting to new ways of working (working from home, different workplace pressures, being COVID-secure, enforcing distancing, increases or decreases in workloads) that have all in some way impacted people. There is also the knock on effect of negative news and negativity on social media that can lead to more demotivation.

This could be the collective effects of 2 years of overload of information and living in some state of fear, either of the pandemic or the effect the pandemic may have on their business. and it is then So now it may be time to taking a step back and looking at what can be done to improve that much needed morale.

As we move into February and celebrate LGBT History Month Working Well continues to grow and develop, by adding a 9th Standard, Inclusion and Diversity. We want to support Knowsley Businesses with their inclusion and diversity strategies and look at how this can be improved.

Ford kindly agreed for us to use the principles of their Listening Workshop initiative to formulate our own version, that can be used by our business members to learn more about this important topic and better understand their employee experience. This has been particularly successful at The Forshaw Group, who won the ‘Investment in People’ award at the first LGBTQ+ Business Awards, you can find out more about the awards here; 2022 North West LGBTQ+ Business Awards.

With so much changing in the workplace, it may be time to sign-up to or re-visit the Working Well programme – for bespoke wellbeing support and signposting for Knowsley businesses.

Looking at a wellbeing calendar or asking the workplace to make suggestions is a great place to start.

There is funding available for:

Covid-19 Workplace Grant – with up to £3,000.00 towards mental health training or wellbeing support, and up to £3,000.00 for COVID provision

Covid-19 Ventilation Grant – for improving the workplace Ventilation up to £14,000.00

Working Well Grant - £500.00 for physical and mental wellbeing funding

To find out more about Working Well, and Grants Email Lorna.Marshall@knowsleychamber.org.uk or call us 0151 477 8602

FEBRUARY FOCUS: Supporting Wellbeing from different angles

As mental wellbeing becomes prominent in the workplace, and with many employees returning to the office a holistic view to mental health issues is increasingly important. Four localy based businesses tell us about their individual approaches to mental health, and wellbeing…

Codes of Consciousness

Kevin Morris was a lorry driver for almost 20 years but his life changed direction after he suffered losing people close to him and losing his business, followed by depression. In 2017 he experienced what he calls a “mass spiritual awaking”.

He became aware of Angelic Reiki Healing, a method of channelling angelic energy to bring calm and healing to people. Kevin qualified as a Reiki Master Teacher. He said: “I knew what it was like to suffer trauma and I wanted to use what I had learned to help other people through their own challenges.”

When COVID hit this impacted on Kevin’s growing business and he endured a relationship break-up. He then met qualified fitness trainer Lisa Marcella Dolan and the two hit it off instantly. Kevin explained: “She was like a big bright light – there was a definite soul connection between us.”

Also passionate about wellness, Lisa also became a qualified Angelic Reiki Master Teacher. The two moved in together. They set up a marquee in the back garden and Lisa held meditation classes, adhering to COVID restrictions. Kevin also continued to work with his clients.

In March last year they decided it made sense to pool their talents into a single business and Codes of Consciousness was born. Then a family member of Kevin’s bought a building in Prescot and asked them if they would like to lease it. It is here they have established a Healing Centre.

“Everything we do is a code to a higher level of consciousness, hence the name,” said Kevin. “We offer a range of services, Angelic Reiki, life coaching, meditation, workshops, health and fitness and nutrition. It is all about the mind, the body and the soul coming together.

“We must be seeing around 30 to 40 clients a week so over the past year or so we must have seen thousands of people. We have plans to set up a community interest company and that will see us deliver wellness workshops to businesses.”

In December 2021, Kevin saw the publication of his first book – Healers Aren’t Holy: From Jack the lad to Spiritual Healer. In the book, available on Amazon, Kevin charts his journey “from the unremarkable to the extraordinary”.

Lisa takes on clients to her own four-week wellness programme. She explained: “I don’t take on walk-in clients. I prefer to see people sign up to the full four-week programme. It is all about taking a holistic approach to health, fitness and wellness.

“They will do a wide range of things in those four weeks – fitness classes, yoga, breathing workshops, meditation. We will look at nutrition and help people put together a healthy eating plan. When the four weeks are up our clients feel absolutely amazing.”

Ell & Dee

Ell & Dee are a highly motivated team of individuals with a passion for learning and development who work across a diverse range of industries and sectors specialising in emotional intelligence, mindfulness and mental health care through a variety of interactive learning initiatives incorporating relevant elements of NLP.

Ell & Dee pride themselves on their values; inspirational leadership, innovation and pioneering character, openness and honesty, embracing difference and recognising and celebrating success.

Claire Morton is Founder and Director at Ell&Dee. Claire is a High Performance Spiritual Business Coach, Number 1 BS Author, Meditation Teacher and Master NLP practitioner, as well as co-hosting her own podcast (Honest To Gob), here Claire reflects upon how these values changed her life, and how important they are in business.

“If you can think negative thoughts, you can think positive thoughts – it’s the same process.”

Emotional Intelligence, first named by Daniel Goleman is the ability to understand and manage your own emotions, and those of the people around you. There are five key elements to developing emotional intelligence: Self-Awareness, Self-Regulation, Empathy, Motivation and Social Skill.

These skills are transferrable into the workplace, and important to develop as a leader.

“To be good at emotional intelligence you have to adapt and change with every situation, I see it like an abacus where everything needs to be perfectly balanced to work, however, you have to change your approach with each person, and this is why emotional intelligence is an important part of leadership.”

Ell & Dee offers Management and Leadership development, Mental Health and Mindset development, Meditation and other valuable workshops for off and online businesses globally and fits well with the Knowsley Working Well programme. You can find out more on their website; Ell & Dee – NLP Consultants (ellanddee.com)

“Being emotionally intelligent is a key skill for those in a leadership role and even for those who do not have the official title as we are all leaders of our own life”

Claire continues to coach, guide and support her clients and students with a coaching model based on love, trust, honesty and above all, a sense of humour.

She has a talent and connection that brings out the best in people through her online programmes About – The Purpose Pusher (thepurpose-pusher.com) and through Lives on her ever-growing Facebook Community; The Successful Kindset | Facebook

Paint Point Coach

John Bullock is a former British kickboxing champion and he has taken the philosophies and practices from that discipline and developed a toolkit to help people deal with stress, confidence issues and managing change in their lives.

Under the branding of the Paint Point Coach, John delivers his methods via online courses, retreats and bespoke workshops which he holds for a number of companies and organisations including the British Army having recently delivered a workshop on finding flow.

Key to John’s approach is what he calls “flow”. He explained: “Flow is that universal feeling we get when we strike that perfect balance of focus. Time, distractions, and even hunger fade into the background and we are totally absorbed with the work in front of us.”

He talks about how people with particular skills and experience can make a task which may appear complex to the outside observer seem relatively easy. He added: “These skills become a programme in the subconscious mind. And when we perform them we are in a flow state.

“What I can do is help people build that flow into their everyday lives and allow people to find joy in what they do. I help them make changes and improvements and take them from the practice arena to the performance arena.”

John will guide people through a number of stages: reflection, resolving, resettling, refocus, evolving and into flow. In the workshops he gets people physically moving their limbs in a gentle way because, he says, “the body instructs the mind”.

His methods can help people to transform their daily lives both the work and personal arenas. He adds that the pandemic has thrown up new challenges for people who are looking to bring about change.

“Over the past couple of years people have experienced periods of isolation,” he explained. “Before the pandemic, if people wanted to deal with an issue, or bring about change in their lives, one way would be a change of scene or environment.

“Of course travel in recent times has been much more difficult. What my programmes can do is help create a space for people to make that transition in their lives without needing to travel. I firmly believe people find that invaluable.”

Caring Connections

For social care charity Caring Connections the pandemic has accelerated its growth and digital transformation – but also brought huge challenges.

For 30 years the Knowsley-based organisation has provided home care support on behalf of local authorities in the Liverpool city region. It currently works in Liverpool and Ellesmere Port and is set to expand into Wigan in the next few weeks.

Its will put a care package into place for people coming out of hospital. Its critical input ensures hospitals are able to keep enough beds free for new patients.

However, chief executive Paul Growney believes social care urgently needs Government focus and needs to be better funded. He explained: “Despite the spotlight thrown on to our sector by the pandemic social care is still really undervalued.

“We have been named one of the top 100 employers in the UK. We have very high standards and we do a vital job in helping to move people out of hospital. Without that link hospitals would grind to a halt. We receive up to 200 referrals a day”

In the next few weeks Caring Connections will face a new challenge. Paul said: “During the pandemic we coped well in terms of maintaining staffing numbers but this has come under pressure in recent weeks with people having to isolate.

“And now we face a big problem with the Government mandate that all health and care sector workers are required to be fully vaccinated by April 1. That is going to impact on a number of our staff.”

The charity also provides a free counselling and bereavement support service that is free to the public. During lockdowns face-to-face sessions had to stop due to strict social distancing rules. However, what was initially seen as a problem was quickly turned into an advantage.

“We pivoted to offering sessions over the phone and that has worked really well,” said Paul. “We were sceptical at first but we actually found that people engaged a lot better – they were more likely to keep appointments.

“And we have invested more in digital systems that allow us to put together care packages and speed up discharges. The new contract we have won in Wigan is down to that and it is the first time we will be the lead provider.

“That is a massive step-up for us. It will take employee numbers from around 70 to up to 120 and we will be delivering over 10,000 care hours per month. It gives us a great platform to become one of the largest providers of social care in the North West.”