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Panel discussion: supporting young people’s mental health
Young workers aged 18 to 30 are perceived to be under almost twice as much pressure in their lives as their more senior peers. They’re more likely to be worrying about debt or struggling to pay their bills, which is likely to add to their stress. Companies can and should focus on creating a more inclusive environment and be prepared to step up and support their people.
Gelong Thubten is a Buddhist monk and author of Handbook for hard times, A monk’s guide to happiness and co-author of How to be human. In this session, he shares how to optimise mental performance through the mindfulness practice of being in the moment. The session explores stress reduction, mental focus and emotional resilience, and provides tools for integrating ‘micro-moments’ of mindfulness into a busy working life.
Closing the listening gap and listening effectively can create not just a safer workplace but also a culture where people can thrive and feel psychologically safe, improving wellbeing. This session covers what listening well looks like and introduces the concept of safety silence and its potential consequences. We also challenge you to think about how you hear different people and how this can affect inclusivity at work – and beyond.
Angie Belcher shows how she uses the process of learning stand-up comedy to help people experiencing trauma have confidence to write and perform from their own life experiences. Angie talks about her pioneering work being the first person to get comedy prescribed on the NHS and how her belief that comedy is for more than just the live circuit, but a power for good that can help elevate people and transcend their belief in themselves.
Have you ever considered how lone working can negatively affect our mental health? Whether it’s part of your job role, you’re working at home or in a deserted building, recognising the impact of isolation on our mental and physical health can be underestimated by many. In the session, we discuss the difference between being alone and feeling alone, the impact on loneliness on our mental and physical health and practical tips for managers and leaders to reduce loneliness in the workplace.
Back pain is a common issue among rail workers, with as much as 69% experiencing it every month. Currently, access to effective help is limited to hospitals with long waiting lists and requires therapist involvement. Dr Sheeran has developed a new work-based intervention called BACK-on-LINE (TM).
Most of us can relate to this: we get into bed at night to scroll through our phones and see what is happening on social media and the internet. We may think this routine helps us unwind, connects with others, distracts us, helps us catch up on the news or lets us see what the people we follow are up to. Little do we realise that this self-destructive night time activity, called doomscrolling, can become a compulsive habit that affects our health. If you’re guilty of doomscrolling, this session will help you get this habit under control.
Join Andy Picken as he demonstrates easy exercises to incorporate before or during your shift. Experience the benefits of simple Personal Protective Exercises (PPE) designed to boost your energy and ease your workday. This warm-up routine will help you stay active, reduce fatigue, and improve overall wellbeing, making your shift work more manageable and less physically taxing. Enhance your daily performance with these effective and accessible exercises.
Deborah Edmonds and Rupert Lown will explore how we can all contribute to improving our alertness when we are working on shifts. Shift working can be a bind, but a bit of thinking and with some small adjustments we can make ourselves more alert – and you won’t need cans of energy drink or treble expressos! Our lives are hectic, we often have young families, caring for parents, grappling to sleep in very hot weather. All of these are things we have to live with, but there are tips and tricks to help us and we will explore these with you.