A new scheme to help workplace employees through the worries and concerns of the COVID crisis has been welcomed by staff at Designer Contracts, the UK’s largest flooring contractor.
A snap poll of the company’s mental health volunteers showed that most people were pleased to know there was someone they could turn to for help – or simply have a private chat with about any concerns.
Said HR and health and safety director Stacey Brereton:
“The company introduced its mental health volunteer scheme back in October as a way of encouraging employees to open up about mental health. We currently have 10 mental health volunteers and one mental health first aider in place and are rolling the scheme out to all 15 regional depots. Each volunteer is undertaking online training which equips them with the skills to support a number of common issues, including stress and stress management.”
To date, most worries have been around job concerns and catching COVID 19 with the stress the pandemic has put on relationships at home coming a close third. And according to the survey, whether it’s a single chat or several conversations, most volunteers felt their input was appreciated. One said they felt they had been able to make a huge difference.
Said Stacey:
“One volunteer told us that the people they worked with had said how nice it was to have someone around who cared enough to learn how to help them. Its feedback like that which makes the scheme so worthwhile and important.
“A couple of our volunteers have dealt with several approaches while others reported dealing with just one or two people. What really matters is that employees have somebody to turn to during what is a very difficult time for everyone.”
Operating across 15 regional outlets throughout the UK, Designer Contracts is now fully compliant with the UK government guidelines on managing the risk of COVID 19 and has been certified as a ‘COVID Safe’ employer.