Oak Team Talk: Mental Health in the Workplace

1. With having to remote work for over a year, do you think this has impacted your mental health in any way?

Yes, to some degree. My experience working in the army has blessed me with the strength of mind that I only realise I have when the chips are down. I think that if this had happened 40 years ago, we wouldn't be able to work from home which would have been worse. I only managed this through distraction as that is the greatest art for the brain along with sleep. To help with my mental health I taught myself woodworking, played on the Xbox, watched Netflix and made sure I had plenty of conversations with people.

2. Do you think it is important for businesses to encourage their employees to speak openly about mental health issues?

I think workplaces should provide information with signposting so that if people need extra support from a professional, they’re being encouraged to make a choice. Mental health is a very sensitive topic and not everyone will want to talk about it but if your workplace offers the right tools and resources, people will know that it is taken seriously and they can seek the right help that works for them.

3. In a recent survey, 41% of employees said that a hybrid working structure would improve their mental health, do you agree with this?

Personally, I would love a hybrid working strategy, and look forward to it as I believe we are implementing but I wouldn’t say it would improve my mental health. I think naturally life would be a little less stressful without the commute and a loss of two hours a day which would make me feel happier. On the other hand, it could also make people feel worse due to a lack of social interaction. I think this is definitely contextual depending on the person. I love the office because I love people, however, I do see the benefit of hybrid as it reduces costs, carbon emissions and makes life a little more convenient.

4. How did you find ways to connect with colleagues over the past year while remote working?

Video calls, and instant messenger. Recently, there have been occasional get-togethers in the office following strict guidelines for critical business activities and that was nice to see people in the flesh for the first time in a year! I barely recognised people with new longer hair doos, and now the hairdressers have opened, they look different again!