Wellbeing

Melin Homes is a leading housing provider in south Wales and manages over 4,000 homes. With over 260 staff, Melin’s culture is built on strong values and they were ranked 6th in the Sunday Times 100 Best Not-For-Profit Organisations to Work For in 2020 . We caught up with Fiona Williams, Communications Officer, to find out more about what it’s like to work at Melin and specifically about their award-winning employee health and...

We too often underestimate the power of small acts of kindness: giving yourself time to have a bubble bath, calling a friend out the blue to tell them we love them or having a good old chinwag with the supermarket assistant. These small acts can have a ripple effect and really turn someone’s day around. At the core of self-love is practicing kindness and compassion to yourself. If you have attended my classes before, you know I...

As children, we learn that kindness is a desirable quality and, as adults, the majority of us want to be compassionate. To treat yourself with kindness means to accept yourself and all your faults; to understand that none of us are perfect, though we often have very high, sometimes unattainable expectations to be gentle, warm and supportive and not harshly judge when mistakes are made.  Making a mistake does not mean we are not...

Even before the official lockdown, a lecturer in Cornwall started a kindness campaign, offering support for those self-isolating. It took the form of leafleting neighbours with contact details of people prepared to offer help with shopping, collecting prescriptions or regular check-in phone calls. Her Facebook page sharing her ideas soon circulated and others copied and spread the goodness worldwide. Life is difficult for so many people....

When we think of the qualities required for succeeding in the workplace, we often think of having good initiative, being able to work within a team, or time management skills. But what about kindness? Is this something that is discussed at interviews? Kindness is not always top of the priority list in a work environment, neither for the employer nor the employee. The workplace is traditionally seen as competitive, and people who display more...

We are currently living in uncertain times and it’s safe to say that the Covid-19 pandemic has affected everyone. It’s during difficult times like these that we notice people coming together, supporting one other and acts of kindness become more important than ever. We have seen communities supporting each other by helping elderly and vulnerable neighbours, thousands of people responding to the UK government’s call for...

April is Stress Awareness Month and a recent study has found that work is the most common cause of stress in the UK. The Perkbox 2020 UK workplace stress survey found that a whopping 79% of employed adults in the UK commonly experience work-related stress which is 20% higher than their previous 2018 study. What is equally concerning is that only 1% of working people say they ‘never’ experience workplace stress. The most...

It’s safe to say that most of us are feeling overwhelmed at the moment as millions of us are currently confined to our homes due to the coronavirus pandemic. Finding new ways to cope with stress and anxiety is especially important during these tough times. The benefits of practicing yoga are well-known, but dancing is also a great stress buster. Georgie Edwards (The Knotted Yogi), a London-based yoga teacher who combines her two...

A new focus on wellbeing at work It’s a difficult time for all of us at the moment. Many of us are adapting to working in a new environment and still dealing with the pressures of work amid the current coronavirus pandemic. Our wellbeing affects every aspect of our lives, including work, which is why we will also be focusing on how to keep healthy here, both physically and mentally, during these trying times. We will be...

Over the past week, thousands of organisations have shut their offices and rolled out mandatory work-from-home policies in order to prevent the spread of COVID-19. Thousands of workers already work remotely, but for many of us this will be the first time we’ve experienced working from home. We thought we’d put together a list of our top tips for anyone working from home. • Get ready for the day ahead - don’t stay in...

We interviewed women involved in housing IT from Adra, Civica, Community Housing, Northgate Public Services, PIMSS Data Systems, Prodo Digital and Rochdale Boroughwide Housing about their various roles in IT, any challenges they’ve faced as women in a traditionally male-dominated sector and how more women can be encouraged to consider a career in housing IT. What attracted you to a career in housing IT? PIMSS Data...

Rhian Waygood, IT Business Partner Team Leader, takes us through a typical day at Coastal Housing. I’ve worked at Coastal Housing for over seven years and over six of them I’ve spent in the IT department. Back in July this year, I was promoted to be team leader of our business partner team which had just been expanded to include two others – the ‘team’ had been just me for a while. I contacted Housing...