At Microlise, we know mental health awareness isn’t just about one week in the year. Our mental health and overall wellbeing is important all year round, and outside of Mental Health Awareness Week, we have several resources and support for our employee’s accessible day to day.

However, the week is an important reminder and a great way of signposting some the resources and tools that are available to employees and how to access them.

Coffee Morning

A main feature of the week was our Mental Health Awareness Coffee Morning, which was jam packed full of activities, information and resources, such as:

  • Create your own superhero to battle anxiety
  • Colouring therapy
  • Positivity contributions
  • Information to take away from vitality, headspace, health assured and anxiety management techniques
  • Spoon Theory exercises
  • What is burnout and how to manage it
  • Post a stress, post a solution
  • Kindness bingo
  • And of course, complementary 200-degree coffee and cake

It was great to see so many supporting one another, sharing their own stories and taking time out of their busy days to learn more about mental health and wellbeing.

Microlise Music Play List

Once again one of our favourite question posed during this year’s Mental Health Awareness Week at Microlise was ‘What song helps you to destress?’, not only has music been shown to reduce stress, but it also increases happiness. All songs choices provided by our employees have been used to form the Microlise Employee Wellbeing Playlist 2023.

Stresses & Solutions

We are all different. What affects someone’s mental wellbeing won’t necessarily affect others in the same way. However, we all have times when we feel stressed, upset or find it difficult to cope. During the coffee morning, we asked employees to anonymously share their common stresses, and solutions for others who may also be struggling.

Some of these stresses included:

  • Feeling like I am doing things wrong
  • Lack of time
  • Overthinking and frustration
  • Intrusive thoughts
  • Not enough time
  • Toxic relationships with people
  • Family/relationships
  • Money
  • Work life balance
  • Conflicting priorities from different sources
  • Personal administration still impacted by the aftermath of covid

And solutions, tips and tricks, included:

  • Exercise
  • Baking
  • Listening to calming music
  • Listening to loud music
  • Make sure you start the day with a smile
  • Open discussions with family, friends, colleagues and managers
  • Win the lottery – take onboard financial wellbeing support offered
  • Lay on a field with music and watch the clouds
  • Breathing exercises
  • Share a problem with a group of people to help come up with a solution
  • Going for a walk

Continued Support

Thank you to everyone that has taken the time to support Mental Health Awareness Week at Microlise, contribute and/or participate in any of the above, whether that be reading one of the many blogs, attending the coffee morning and/or the webinars.

Our Core Values are at the heart of what we do and we are continually invested in championing our We Care value. Not only are we certified a Great Place to Work®, but being on the UK Best Workplace for Wellbeing® list only highlights the importance of our values. They are integral to everything we do and that’s how we become in practice the company we aim to be on paper. We value each and every person and pride ourselves on providing an inclusive workforce, and we continually aim to go from strength to strength because of the talented people in our teams.