Mental Health Awareness Week 2022: Tackling loneliness in a remote working environment

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What is Mental Health Awareness Week? 

Mental Health Awareness week is an annual event run by the Mental Health Foundation which aims to raise awareness and promote good mental health. It has been running for 21 years with a relevant theme chosen each year, including Nature, Kindness, and Body Image. This year, the Foundation has chosen the theme of Loneliness, recognising the increase in isolation and poor mental health following the Covid-19 pandemic. 

How can we Tackle Loneliness in a Remote Working Environment? 

Where meeting rooms once were, we now have kitchen table Zoom calls and chats at the water cooler which once facilitated meaningful social interactions in the workplace are, for many, a thing of the past, or at least much reduced. Many companies are now faced with the predicament of maintaining workplace relationships and engaging with team members without ever, or rarely, seeing them in the flesh. 

While the benefits of remote working have become clear, there are drawbacks and those struggling with poor mental health and feelings of isolation are at greater risk of falling through the cracks. This is why, as both an employer and a colleague, it is important to maintain regular contact with your team members to ensure that working relationships remain strong and everybody has the opportunity to discuss issues they may be struggling with at work. 

In an office environment it can be much easier to pick up on an employee who is struggling with poor mental health, but in a remote environment this may go under the radar. By checking in on your employees and colleagues on a regular basis and making time to chat you are more likely to notice any issues and properly address them. In addition, by ensuring and promoting social contact between team members you can help to prevent feelings of isolation which may stem from increased remote working patterns, therefore helping to prevent poor mental health in the workplace from occurring. 

What does Bridgehouse have in place to tackle Loneliness? 

Here at Bridgehouse, we were advocates for remote and hybrid working long before the pandemic hit. We recognise the benefits of flexible working and allowing our team members to make a choice of what working location works best for them. 

We host monthly meetings in which everyone has a chance to discuss their workload as well as their personal lives and this ensures we remain in contact despite not being in the office. However, as our company continues to grow and the team expands, we have identified the need to ensure that positive communication is encouraged even further. 

As part of our response, we have introduced ‘Wellbeing Wednesdays’ hosted by our Head of Strategic and Business Development, Vanessa Norcliffe. 

On the last Wednesday of every month Vanessa’s schedule is open for team members to book in and have a check-in and a chat in the same way that they might during a workplace coffee break in the office environment. We hope that by reaching out to our team members and making it easy for them to take time to socialise and discuss their wellbeing that we can help to combat loneliness and maintain positive mental health within the business. 

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