It’s Mental Health Awareness Week 9th to 15th May with a theme of Loneliness. Join in on 11th May 19.15-20.30 online for our HR meet up sign up via Eventbrite
The American Psychological Association defines loneliness as “affective and cognitive discomfort or uneasiness from being or perceiving oneself to be alone or otherwise solitary”. Socially and cognitively, when needs for intimacy and companionship are not met, the resulting emotional distress of loneliness can be high. These unmet emotional needs can lead to stress, anxiety and/or depression.
So
Have you ever felt lonely in your HR post? I have.
Have you maintained a boundary in the relationship between your employees and your manager in order to maintain ethical practice? I always did.
Have you been at lunch with a co-worker one day and then the next, been asked to help their manager pull them up for performance issues? Yes.
Have you felt a lack of support from other professionals within your own organisations? Almost certainly!
In my HR career, I was glad to speak with other HR Professionals outside my organisation who gave me insight and support as to ways forward. Other HR people I know also feel it is best to connect with people outside because there are no repercussions, whether they mean to be supportive or otherwise. I can recall a time when I mentioned to a colleague how irritated I was about a manager and she felt it was a good idea to share my feelings with him. She meant well but I had some challenges building that management relationship, I can tell you!
Of course the CIPD offer space during their monthly events to learn and connect and the local HR Practitioners Group also offers a space to network and share. These are great resources so please use them, I have been thankful for their guidance over the years.
But as a therapist I love my monthly supervision sessions. They give me a chance to consider my responses to my client needs as well as discussing how I am feeling. I have long wished this existing in the HR world. We at Moonstir feel there is a unique chance for us to offer a space for peer support which focuses beyond the HR role and instead on your resilience, your coping strategies and your health.
We are proposing a 6 weekly peer-support group over 8 sessions where we can impart some information and jointly discuss wellbeing topics including mental, physical and nutritional health. Here you can feel a sense of ease connecting with others in HR with universality in our shared understanding that wellbeing matters but can be hard to maintain. Together we can instill hope to manage the emotional highs and lows of this demanding role. We can offer a confidential space for a cathartic blowout about your own experiences without judgement. We will offer something therapeutic for you with each event leaving you feeling supported with kindness and compassion both from us and your peers. If we can offer this safe space as therapists and coaches, maybe we can come together to reduce the likelihood of loneliness in HR, reduce ill health and improve your wellbeing.
In the first instance we propose to hold a virtual coffee and catch up on 11th May 19.15-20.30 (or should you wish, a beer and a blether) from the comfort of your own home. We want to gather ideas and suggestions on whether this peer support is wanted and if so, in what format, location and any associated costs. We want you to feel that you matter too so let’s chat about our thoughts and see if this meets your needs.
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