Everyone has taken a beating this year.
Everyone has taken a beating this year. And it’s time to ‘step in the ring’ once again for the 2nd lockdown in the UK. Whether it’s emotionally, mentally, physically, financially; there isn’t one person that hasn’t been affected. Which is why when Stress Matters invited me to join the Mental Health First Aid course, I was excited and eager to be involved.
This is not a ‘new’ initiative, Stress Matters and other organisations recognised the need for mental health wellbeing within the events industry years ago, but with the COVID-19 outbreak, it’s become more prevalent than ever before. Within our industry, we don’t know what will happen, it’s impossible to see into the future, but we all know that the people are undoubtedly its’ most valuable asset, therefore their wellbeing should be a priority.
I hail from the ‘old agency’ days where it was work hard and play harder. And that’s one of the things I love about events. Our industry works on various cycles; you work your a*se off to deliver an event and then it suddenly stops (before the next one begins again). It’s deadline driven which is a draw for many. There are no second chances, when that event goes live, weeks and months of hard work comes into fruition. You miss out on seeing friends, personal events and missing key milestones but this is just a part of the job. It’s this high-pressure environment which plays a huge part on our mental wellbeing. So, it’s no surprise that according to Career Casts report on the Most Stressful Jobs in 2019, the events profession ranked 6th, behind the military and emergency services. Whilst we aren’t ‘saving lives’, we know how stressful the job is and what it entails. All these studies just reinforce the message that we need to be promoting mental wellbeing within our beloved industry.
If the studies weren’t enough to prove that we needed to focus on our mental health, then the statistics might be. According to MHFA, there are 72 million working days lost as a result of mental ill health which in turn, costs around £35 billion every year. This obviously isn’t isolated to the events industry but goes to show that this is an issue across all fields and businesses and isn’t just going ‘to go away’. Having completed the course, I don’t claim to be a mental health expert. However, my awareness is far greater now; it’s not about finding solutions to people’s problems, it’s about being there to provide comfort for someone in need, with no judgement and sometimes, that can be enough.
At some stage, (in we hope, the not so distant future), the demand for live events will be bigger than ever. People are craving that human connection after being detached from face-to-face interaction for so long. There will also be those that (rightfully so) are nervous and anxious about being around people. So, in preparation for this, how do we manage this shift and support our teams and colleagues along the way?
Key advice from the MHFA course and tips that we will always implement within the Lemon Lane team;
- Communicate and encourage ‘buddies’ within your teams. People need to feel comfortable talking about their mental health from leadership, down to the more junior members of the team
- Check in with your team on a regular basis during this difficult period, particularly those that are on furlough
- Ensure your colleagues and wider team are taking enough breaks throughout the day; even if it’s a 5-minute walk around the block
- Develop trust within the team so that everyone can support one another
- Build ‘recovery’ days post-event into the programme (and that goes for all events; live or virtual) so that the team can recuperate and recover. Also ensure everyone is taking annual leave throughout the year
- Review working styles amongst the team and embrace different working styles – you need to trust that they will get the job done
- Whilst everyone is suffering from ‘zoom fatigue’, arrange some more social catch-ups; can someone in your team run a fitness workshop? Rather than the virtual quizzes, introduce some virtual games and encourage all members of the team to join
- Try and switch off at the end of the day. Much easier said than done but turn emails off, and if you need to catch-up on emails, delay delivery so that clients and suppliers won’t have the expectation that you are available at all hours of the day
Primarily, our focus was how we could transfer the skills as a Mental Health First Aider across our team as well as at the events we run, but the course opened up my eyes to how the awareness can be used in every aspect of our lives. Mental Health must be taken as seriously as caring for your physical wellbeing. Open up the conversation and ask how the people around you are, even more so during this 2nd lockdown. It’s important to maintain that social interaction, even if you will have to give hugs a miss for now.
For more information on how you can become a Mental Health First Aider, and mental health support channels, please visit: https://www.stressmatters.org.uk/
-Rachel Capell
