Did you know that Thursday 3 February is Time to Talk Day? This awareness day, which is run by a number of organisations including Mind, aims to create supportive communities - including in the workplace - by encouraging people to talk more about mental health. Together, we can talk, listen, change lives.
To mark the occasion, we’ve developed this new webpage, which includes a number of suggestions about how Time to Talk Day is an opportunity to work towards a more open and inclusive culture when it comes to mental wellbeing – as well as being a useful reminder of the resources already available to staff.
On the right hand side, you'll find useful links to some of the School's existing resources that support the mental health of the staff community, as well as ways to keep networking and interacting whether we're on or off campus.
Below, we've included some ideas about staff can start local conversations about mental wellbeing – it could be anything from a coffee morning to just a quick chat with a colleague about how you are. And don’t forget the other ways in which you can keep networking and connecting with colleagues (such as LSE Tree), whether you’re on or off campus.
Starting a conversation about mental health can be as straightforward as asking someone about their weekend - it doesn't need to be anything especially profound. Of course, you may know just what to say. If you aren't sure, here's a few suggestions:
- Just ask someone how they are.
- Tell someone that you appreciate what they've done for you - this could be related to a piece of work you've collaborated on or it could be something a bit more personal, such as a piece of advice that you found especially helpful.
- Remember that sometimes writing can be easier, so put something in a text if that seems a better way of starting a conversation.
- If you're back on campus, meet up with a colleague and chat over lunch.
- If you're also a manager, take the time to ask staff how they are, whether it's in a morning catch-up or in your next one-to-one.
However you choose to start, let's get talking.
One of the ideas behind Time to Talk Day is that individuals are inspired to organise local events that get people talking about mental health. It could be a coffee morning, a quick chat at a team catch-up, or any other opportunity to take a moment for ourselves and each other.
You can also get in touch at Staffwellbeing@lse.ac.uk if you would like colleagues from Staff Wellbeing to give a talk to your team about what's available wellbeing-wise.
The School continues to develop support and resources to support better mental health and wellbeing in general. You can find links to some of these on the right side of this page. There's plenty more besides these links, depending on what sort of support would be most helpful for you. For example, if you're looking to take a little time each day to be mindful, the 10 Minute Mind will send you daily mindfulness tracks direct to your inbox. Alternatively, if you're going back on campus after a period working remotely, you may find the Return to campus and your wellbeing page a useful reminder of the wellbeing support that's available.
We hope that you find this page useful. Please do let us know at Staffwellbeing@lse.ac.uk if you have any comments, queries or suggestions.
Best wishes
Staff Wellbeing