WFH during lockdown - how does your employer support your wellbeing?

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I'm sitting here on a Sunday night catching up on work that I haven't been able to fit into my usual M-F working work. In "normal times" I would usually get through the workload ok, but these days I am easily distracted and anxious (and tired) and my concentration for working just isn't what it used to be.

Some of my friends EFH in companies that have been really helpful with supporting their staff wellbeing - early finishes, extended lunch hours, extra annual leave, reduced workload, extended deadlines to do work.

We have had NOTHING! Well, we got one piece of advice - "don't forget to take your lunch hour!" but then we have regular meetings that start at 12:30 or 1 so they don't really seem all the keen on protecting our (unpaid) lunch hours.

I am idly wondering what other employers do? I am fed up of having to work in the evenings and weekends to catch up on my work but equally I am finding it really hard to plod on WFH, I don't see anyone, I don't go out anywhere, it's very hard working from my bedroom!

EFH should of course be - WFH

Bump

Have you had a conversation with yoir manager? I would think that would be a good starting point and I say that not as a manager myself but an employee finding it increasingly difficult. My employer is supportive in terms of the all user emails that come round but I'm not taking advantage of it but I know that the barrier is me not being able to say I'm struggling

Ours pay a lot of lip service to wellbeing but don't really have a clue what goes on outside of head office.

We've had online training including mindfulness. Various online articles. Helpline that is externally run.

Decline meetings at lunch and put an appointment in when you want to take your break. Set your phone to do not disturb so you can concentrate.

@Flowers2020bloom

Have you had a conversation with yoir manager? I would think that would be a good starting point and I say that not as a manager myself but an employee finding it increasingly difficult. My employer is supportive in terms of the all user emails that come round but I'm not taking advantage of it but I know that the barrier is me not being able to say I'm struggling

My manager is having their own struggles; I am supposed to be having monthly 1:1 meetings but I haven't had one for the past six months now!

Nothing. No well-being support. But I’m a teacher so not surprised!

I raised a concern about a colleague months ago but no information or help was provided.
Now we've only just received an email about wellbeing with some website links and a telephone number.

Ours have been very good. Flexible, support webinars and resources. 2 hours wellbeing a week paid (do what you like if it supports your wellbeing)

I was working last night and tonight because I've had a colleague off for 4 weeks due to COVID.

I'll speak to my manager tomorrow and will ask if I can have Tuesday afternoon off. I have a child & 26 weeks pregnant, so working late means working after 8pm usually as inbetween finishing work and until he goes to sleep, he is obviously my priority. At least this is only for just under 3 more months for me.

All I can say, I feel you and it's tough to manage at times.

We have mental health first aiders, staff networks (including a parenting network where there are loads of home schooling tips and support), social coffee breaks on Teams, free access to Headspace app, employee assistance programme, wellbeing network, and lots of flexibility with working hours. They have done loads to be honest, most of this stuff was already available before the pandemic but there's more awareness of it now.

Nothing really. I mean we have various online workshops about managing stress etc but the thing is the people are are juggling work & childcare & are probably the most stressed do not have time for wellness seminars in between work and home schooling!! So it all feels like a token gesture.

I know people in other companies who have had workload cut while trying to also homeschool or been given extra holiday.

Lots of lip service but when the crunch actually came they paid me out.

All the talk and no idea. I’m feeling ok, but the future is bleak.

We have some things, we have "coffee mornings" (I've not attended any). We had during first lockdown very good communications about how it wasn't business as usual and that if you had to take time to deal with caring responsibilities then that was fine. We were also allowed to volunteer in our community and they'd pay us for our time (which I did).

This time round not as much. Much more business as usual. However the type of job I have is if the work is not happening on site there's not a huge amount for me to do. So I have no deadlines and I'm quickly losing all motivation and feeling incredibly guilty.

My senior manager is very good. He said he cares more about output than presenteeism. We can work any time we want. I stick to our standard hours. If the work doesn't get done in our set hours then it can wait until next week. I've never had to work weekends or evenings.

However I don't really know what else they can do. I'm waiting for my desk to turn up although my office chair came pretty quickly.

I have been home working since March 23rd. There is a huge amount of talk about well-being and looking after yourself but absolutely zero actual real support. My old manager seemed to give a shit but he was made redundant. My new manager is nice but has only been a manager since lockdown and is rushed off his feet and quite a stoic person himself. So, in short, lots of talk but not very much actual concrete action. We do have some sort of telephone helpline but I wouldn't feel
Inclined to use it as I envisage a call-centre counselling model.

It's ok.
We're quite nicely feral, especially my team, almost no active management.
The big challenge is limitd VPN licenses; I may not be able to get on at all most weekday mornings.
It's a good thing we have 'flexitime' because it might be 1or 2pm before I can access any work files or load software.
Organisation is in financial crisis so there is no solution to get more licenses.