Prioritising Mental Health in the Workplace: A Focus on Our Care Professionals
At Home Instead Wimbledon and Kingston, we believe that mental health and wellbeing should always be a priority—especially in the workplace.
To celebrate World Mental Health Day, we’re sharing some personal insights from our team members about how prioritising mental health has made a positive impact on their work lives and overall wellbeing. The theme this year for World Mental Health day is, “Prioritising Mental Health in the Workplace”. This resonates deeply with us, as we’ve seen first-hand how investing in our Care Professionals’ mental health translates to a happier, healthier, and more dedicated team.
Supporting Our Team with Opportunities to Learn and Connect
We have several initiatives to support our Care Pros here at Wimbledon and Kingston. A recent one, spearheaded by our Director, Clare, was called, ‘Lunch and Learn.’
Clare shared with us, “Life is hard for people at the moment, particularly Care Professionals, many of whom have incredible lives outside of the work they do at Home Instead.” Clare decided to bring in experts from the community, from stylists, nutritionists to therapists, to come and speak to our team for an hour. Clare laid on a lovely lunch and gave the Wimbledon and Kingston team a chance to come together, sit, learn, relax and eat and hopefully, take away something from the hour that will change their lives.
However, it’s not just our paid Care Professionals who need recognition. In Merton, there are estimated to be nearly 16,000 carers who are unpaid. In our recent ‘Carers Event’ in Wimbledon, we really wanted to celebrate and thank our carers for their incredible hard work. We had music, talks and workshops. We really hope it showed carers in Merton that they are valued. Carers First, is a wonderful hub of support unpaid carers and it operates out of Merton. Like Home Instead Wimbledon and Kingston, Carers First recognise the challenges that people who care face and is an excellent resource for financial, mental health and legal support.
Building a Sense of Community and Belonging
For our Care Professionals at Home Instead Wimbledon and Kingston, it’s not just about providing training and support; it’s also about building a sense of community.
For Care Professional Alice, finding this kind of supportive environment at Home Instead made all the difference:
“Within the first two weeks, I realised how much of a community it was. I’d come in, and everyone would be smiling and cheery. I was taken aback by how happy everyone was. It made a difference to my work.” Alice shared.
She found the Lunch and Learn sessions particularly valuable: “It is so important for companies to really acknowledge their employees; there are so many times when you’re not cared for in a job… It really makes you realise you’re in a good community, and it makes you work better when you’re acknowledged.”
Creating a Family Atmosphere
Amy, who works as a scheduler in the office, believes that the strong sense of family within the team is key to maintaining a positive work environment:
“We are a family, and that’s the best thing. I think with everyone—Care Professionals, office staff, everyone—we are all a family, we stick together, we stand together, and that’s the best part about Home Instead Wimbledon and Kingston,” she says proudly.
Why Mental Health Matters
Prioritising mental health in the workplace is not just a tick-box exercise for us. We truly believe that when our team members feel supported, valued, and connected, they’re able to provide the best possible care to our clients. This is why Katina, our Head of People Experience is now a trained Mental Health First Aider. Katina’s role as a ‘MHFA’ is there as a safe person to talk to within our organisation. She keeps things confidential and will support staff by guiding them to any support groups or agencies if needed. We are thrilled that Katina has taken on this vital position and really feel it will be so beneficial.
World Mental Health Day is a reminder for all of us to look after ourselves and each other. As Clare put it so well: “To care for somebody is a huge privilege, but it’s also not an easy job to do.” That’s why we’re committed to creating a workplace where everyone can thrive—both mentally and physically.
If you’re interested in joining a company that genuinely cares about its people, or if you’d like to learn more about the support we offer to our team members, get in touch with us today. 💜
