How long have you been in your role? What does your role involve?

I started in the Safety, Health and Employee Wellbeing (SHEW) Department on 1 February this year.

This is a new role for the University, and the requirement for the role was identified by the University Health and Wellbeing steering group. It is extremely varied, making it both stimulating and challenging.

I am part of the H&W steering group where I might advise, guide, support or lead on various objectives that impact on staff wellbeing. For example, one of these objectives is submitting a tangible Time to Change Employer Action Plan to identify what we are committed to delivering on to manage mental health and wellbeing, and tackle stigma in the workplace.

I am also responsible for managing a range of projects that support managers and staff to thrive at work, these include:

  • measuring wellbeing and stress to gain a solid understanding of factors that could be adversely affecting staff wellbeing;
  • creating and delivering training to embed staff health and wellbeing;
  • developing and supporting the implementation of Wellbeing Action Plans for Faculties, Departments and Individuals;
  • collaborating with stakeholders, networks and partnerships inside and outside the University;
  • evaluating our achievements.

Why is staff wellbeing so important?

I have been engaged in ‘workplace wellbeing’ positions/projects for over 20 years, from research and analysis to implementation and evaluation.

Evidence indicates that promoting and supporting staff wellbeing delivers mutual benefit to individuals, organisations and communities. Focusing on employee wellbeing is shown to result in better morale, engagement and a healthier and more inclusive culture.

When people are content and well, they tend to thrive and flourish; this in turn improves the quality of life, leading to meaning and purpose and contributing to overall wellbeing.

Feeling a high level of wellbeing contributes to more engagement and productivity at work, conversely, when people experience low levels of wellbeing, they don’t perform at their best.

We live in interesting times, the fast-moving and complex world of work means that people face diverse organisational and wider environmental pressures. This places fluctuating demands on employees and employers suggesting our grasp of health and wellbeing needs can never stand still, they need to constantly evolve. I am sure that both individually and organisationally we are up for the challenge. I have met so many motivated people who are eager to learn and develop.

What is the University’s approach to wellbeing?

The University has adopted a whole University approach to mental wellbeing, this means involving and engaging with staff and students to enhance health and wellbeing across our community. The aim is to create a thriving community and workplace through a three-tier approach:

1) Promote; taking a proactive approach in promoting mental health and wellbeing

2) Prevent; be aware, then prepare to take action using a range of resources available to managers and staff

3) Support; spot the signs and respond through a wide support network

What would you most like to achieve while at the University?

To see wellbeing recognised as a key enabler of effective individual and organisational performance and therefore considered as a core principle in all that we do.

Who was your most influential teacher/educator, and why?

A director I worked with at McCains Foods, his engagement and interest in every single person and his confidence in their potential was inspirational.

As a child, what did you want to be when you grew up?

I don’t recall thinking about growing up.

Perhaps some of the philosophies of Socrates are useful here, he is quoted as saying “the unexamined life is not worth living”, so thought about life, where you’ve been and where you are going, why you have done what you’ve done, what worked and what didn’t, and what lies ahead can be valuable when thinking about where to grow to next.

This means, of course, that being a “grown-up” demands that one has learned something from experience and continues to learn more as experience unfolds.

What was your first job?

I had a holiday job in a hospital, mostly cleaning. This fairly unpleasant hospital experience meant I was ready with a response when a ‘careers advisor’ at school told me (an interesting juxtaposition) that girls were either nurses or teachers, and asked which I wanted to be, I chose teaching.

Where is your favourite holiday destination and why?

When there is so much to see around the world, it is difficult to choose a favourite place. For a seaside destination, the Gili Islands in Indonesia take some beating. I had the opportunity to work/holiday there for a while and struggled with the ‘Bali Blues’ on returning to a UK winter.

If you could meet anyone in the world dead or alive who would it be and why?

A well-known person would be David Attenborough. It would be interesting to hear about his philosophy on life and aging well.

Which one superpower would you like to possess?

With family living in different parts of the world, a ‘beam me up Scottie’ type of power would be very valuable. This would also mean I could return to the Gili Islands or other distant shores just for the weekend.

Tell us your favourite joke

I couldn’t think of any so asked my son and daughter for some examples:

There are two fish in a tank. One says to the other, I hope you know how to drive this thing!

Did you hear the joke about the wall? Oh, you’ll never get over it.