Flexible working

We are aware that for many of us, there are ongoing challenges with life as we come out of lockdown. To help, we are inviting you to connect with others (via Teams), who may be in a similar circumstance to you. This would be an opportunity to share experiences and ideas, offer words of encouragement or simply be reassured that you are not alone. We may not have all the answers on how to make everything great, but maybe, by talking about it, by being open and honest and sharing thoughts and ideas, it will make a difference.

We recognise that people are in different circumstances, but some of those circumstances may have more common challenges. Initially we are going to hold a couple of virtual drop in sessions for two groups. The first, called Barratt Parent Connect is for mums and dads of children of any age, as we recognise that working whilst children have not been at school or with normal childcare arrangements for a prolonged period is challenging. The second, called Barratt Connect is for people who are home working and perhaps feeling more isolated, maybe living alone or missing the social interaction of work. It could also be for those who are shielding for health reasons or carers. The sessions will be run as an informal virtual drop in sessions via Teams, with some initial facilitation but no set or rigid meeting agenda.

Barratt Parent Connect: Mondays 1-2pm and Fridays 1-2pm Barratt Connect: Tuesdays 1-2pm and Fridays 2-3pm

If you would either like more information or to be invited to the drop in session, please email Jo Clay and Becky Nicholls and state which session you would be interested in. You will then be invited to the Teams session so it will be in your calendar and you can then join the session if you want to.

jo.clay@barrattplc.co.uk / becky.nicholls@barrattplc.co.uk

Burnout and exhaustion

Through the last few months whether you have been furloughed or remained at work, this will have had an impact on your health and wellbeing. You may have been worrying about your job, your family, your health, working long hours, you may have financial worries or be worrying about the future, so it’s not surprising that so many people are struggling with high levels

of stress.

Our routines have completely changed, and with many working parents now at home with children all day, we are also separated from most of our support networks of family, friends and colleagues. It goes without saying that we are living in stressful times, particularly at present, but failing to manage this stress increases our risk of burnout, which can have long-term negative effects on our mental and physical health and wellbeing.

There are things you can do to help:

Put boundaries in place to achieve and maintain a work-life balance. Set realistic targets for yourself and be flexible where you can. Prioritising what you need to do will help make things clearer. Don’t criticise yourself if you don’t achieve everything on your to do list.

The Group Talent team continue to offer a range of 45 minute webinars designed to fit around your day, which are available to book via MyLearning. Example topics and learning opportunities are Developing Trust, Motivation and Organisational Skills as well as frequent mindfulness practice sessions.

You can also access a wide range of 60 second skills modules and eLearning modules on a range of health and wellbeing topics such as Work-life balance, Switching off from work, The importance of sleep and many more.