19th April 2022

Give a Grad a Go talk mental health with iNews 🧠

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Champions of graduate recruitment and pioneers of well-being in the workplace, Give a Grad a Go is very in tune with the pressures of the workplace, where mental health is a hugely important issue.

In the current climate with new pressures and overwhelming negativity, monitoring and looking after your employees’ mental health has never been more important.

We are delighted to be featured in iNews’ latest issue, covering positive action companies are taking towards improving mental health in the workplace. Our CEO Cary Curtis shares some of the challenges Give A Grad A Go has faced this year, the pressures of business owners and why mental health should always be a priority in the workplace.

Click the link below to read the full interview and find out what other companies are doing to protect their employees’ wellbeing.

Read the article

Looking after your employees’ mental health

Cary Curtis created Give a Grad a Go in 2009 and seeing the business grow year-on-year since and launching in Australia earlier this year, he had big plans for 2020, “our target for 2020 was 800-plus placements, thanks to lockdown, we’re on course to do about 500 and that now seems like a massive result”.

For many businesses, like Give a Grad a Go, expected targets will not be hit this year, however, in his discussion with iNews, Cary reinforces that smaller achievements are still a huge success and it’s important to celebrate these milestones, whether it’s your business staying open, retaining a certain amount of staff or hitting a smaller, more achievable target.

Celebrating new goals and showing appreciation to your staff is a great way to improve mental wellbeing in the workplace and give your employees a boost of motivation.

Make sure to visit our blog to find out more ways to improve mental, physical and social wellbeing in the workplace.

For many businesses this year, there has been a reduced workforce tasked with carrying out other employees’ roles and taking on more responsibility as many staff were furloughed and made redundant due to the pandemic, at Give A Grad A Go “our team shrunk from 32 to 20, but we have brought back nine people who we originally furloughed”.

With staff quickly having to adapt to new roles and many facing uncertainties around their future, it can take a huge toll on your employees’ mental health.

Likewise, many business owners have faced constant pressures and stress this year, having to make extremely difficult decisions such as redundancies.

“From a professional point of view, it’s the toughest patch I can remember. We all went remote when the Government told us to work from home, we watched revenue tumble and I held my head in my hands as I tried to work out how we were going to keep everyone on. That was before the furlough announcement. When that happened, I shed tears of relief. The pressure on business owners’ mental health was very real during lockdown.”

It has never been more important to look after your employees’ mental well-being, as well as your own as a business owner as you all adapt to working remotely and face new challenges.

It’s important that your employees have regular contact with their managers and other members of staff so they feel connected and able to mention any of their concerns.

It’s also important for your employees to stay connected outside of work hours.

Holding regular socials, such as online drinks, quizzes or virtual birthday celebrations are all great ways to boost morale and gain some normality back.

Find more advice on running a business from home and managing remote teams.

Looking after your mental health as a business owner

For many business owners and managers, managing remote teams is something completely unknown, and navigating a business through this period is extremely difficult.

Whilst it’s important to look after your employees’ mental health, it’s equally as important to make sure you aren’t neglecting your own.

Make sure you’re not letting your business consume you, make time for the things you love and don’t be too hard on yourself when factors are out of your control.

Discussing with iNews, Cary reinforces that it’s important to see the positives, to learn from this new experience and to celebrate each success, no matter how big or small:Read the full interview and what other companies are doing to protect their employees’ wellbeing: