This week in Careers, we focused on the importance of looking after your wellbeing while working from home.
As many of us continue to adjust to new ways of working, we spoke to people from different companies and industries about wellbeing this week.
We got some great insights from nine employers in Ireland, looking at how they’re promoting the physical and mental health of their employees during this time. As Accenture Ireland’s head of HR, Lisa Rose, put it: “Now, more than ever, we need to lead with compassion, be flexible and care for our people and each other.” Read the piece here.
One person who is very familiar with the importance of staff wellbeing is Lauren Pritchard, the community manager at Viasat Ireland. She spoke to us about her current task of “translating the strong community that has been built in the office into the digital world without losing its heart”.
Preparing your team members to be adaptable may also help look after their wellbeing. Hays’ Nick Deligiannis gave us seven key pieces of advice on getting your team ready and able for change, now and in the future.
And with the added stress of working from home in the middle of a global crisis, you might be experiencing symptoms of burnout without realising it. We spoke to resilience coach Siobhán Murray to find out why burnout is more likely at the moment and how you can deal with it.
New things to try
If you are feeling fatigued from work and you want to apply your energy elsewhere, why not try learning a fun skill? Dublin City Council launched a new project called Holding It Together Apart, which is offering free online classes in juggling, cooking, laughter yoga, gardening and more.
Elsewhere, Mark Graham, a lecturer at Waterford IT and a member of the band King Kong Company, launched his own online resource this week in the form of a tutorial on starting your own podcast from home. His video is available on YouTube and includes handy tricks and tools that can help you get started, even “in your pyjamas”.
Finally, if you’re looking for something fun to do on a Friday afternoon, why not give this remote-work bingo game a try?
Online pivots
For any transition-year students who were hoping to partake in the Engineers Ireland STEPS Engineering Your Future programme this year, it’s now available online. The initiative aims to engage students in considering the opportunities offered by a career in engineering and this year’s instalment features interactive video challenges, the first of which is learning how to develop a communication system at home.
And STEM charity Teen-Turn has also pivoted online to ensure it stays as accessible as possible to young girls from under-represented backgrounds. The charity encourages them to think about STEM careers and its CEO and founder, Joanne Dolan, said the team is determined to continue that throughout this challenging time.
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