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By Claire Farrow
At Make A Difference we’re dedicated to putting our values into action. We’re on a mission to ensure every employer has access to the insights, inspiration and contacts they need to support a well workforce and make a difference to workplace culture, mental health and wellbeing.
Through our media channel and our upcoming global digital events, we’re committed to accelerating the shift from stigma to solutions, turning talk into action and moving workplace culture, mental health and wellbeing mainstream.
For this reason, I’m sharing some of the articles that we’ve published since the start of COVID-19 on makeadifference.media. These illustrate how leaders are putting their values into action by supporting staff through the ongoing health crisis.
1. How Google Is Training Its People Managers to Make Team Member Mental Health a Priority
Yu-lin Gardner, Benefits Program Manager at Google, shares insights into the progressive ways the global employer is putting its values into action by approaching mental health training and support for their people managers and how that’s shifted through the COVID-19 pandemic.
2. How Race-Related Stress Impacts Employees and What Companies Can Do to Help
Diversity, equality and inclusion in workplaces has become a central value for a growing number of employers after recent US events. In Laura Stokes, Chief Strategy Officer at Henry Health’s article, she offers important advice to companies on how to support the mental health of employees from diverse racial and ethnic backgrounds.
3. Managing Remotely – Is It Time To Rethink How We Manage Our Employees
We know how critical the role of the manager is when it comes to people’s workplace wellbeing. With managing remotely being the ‘new normal’, companies and managers are trying to catch up to ensure support is adapted. In this article, Dr. Jo Yarker and Dr. Rachel Lewis cover research around specific management competencies for managing teams well remotely. They include practical guidance on how companies can put their values into action by ensuring managers are prepared with adequate training and resources to monitor and support team mental health and wellbeing, along with reminders on the importance of looking after themselves.
4. Why Leaders Must be Change Agents for the ‘Reset’ to the ‘New Normal’
We know that the role of leaders is critical in supporting the sustained wellbeing of a workforce. Gaby Joyner, Senior Director at Willis Towers Watson, discusses why the actions of leaders will be key in businesses surviving the crisis. She looks at how leaders are expected to put values into action by leading change efforts; seeing it as an opportunity to increase skill sets. The article also covers why employees will be looking to leaders to provide them with new training and developmental opportunities to re-skill after COVID-19. A really valuable read for all leaders during this time.
5. Flatten the Stress Curve: Design Elements to Mediate Stress Upon Return-To-Work
It’s undoubtedly been a stressful year for the majority of people, and companies are keen to adapt support for staff with our workspaces and working lives having changed so drastically. Dr. Mike O’Neill, former Director of Research, Haworth, Inc. talks about the importance of social cohesion/social support among employees in helping diminish the negative effects of work stress. In this article, Dr. O’Neill covers how COVID-19 responsive workplace design can play an important role in turning values into action by ensuring social cohesion/support can still happen amongst workers in ‘the new normal.’
The topics in these top articles will all be discussed at length by some of the world’s leading employers at our upcoming global digital events. This includes our flagship event MAD World Summit, taking place 8 October; Make a Difference Summit US in Association with Mind Share Partners on 15 October (which is World Values Day) and Make a Difference Summit Asia on 11 November, 2020. You can pick and choose the content most relevant to you or attend all the digital events with our Global Pass
About the author
Claire Farrow is the Global Director of Content and Programming for the Mad World and Make a Difference Summits. She also drives the content for Make A Difference News. Claire is on a mission to help every employer – large, medium and small – get the insight, inspiration and contacts they need to make real impact on workplace culture, mental health and wellbeing in their organisation. She has been freelance for more than 15 years. During that time, she has had the honour of working with many leading publishers, including the New York Times