The coronavirus pandemic has caused a dramatic shift in how people work.
As many are now working from home - with virtual meetings replacing face-to-face contact - the effect this is having on employees’ wellbeing and productivity has been well documented and widely debated.
Several Manchester-based businesses are attempting to address these challenges by creating and recruiting for new roles to help support workplace wellbeing.
Cheadle-based Autocab has employed a director of company culture, while marketing agency Social Chain has hired a permanent life coach.
Likewise Beattie, an integrated communications agency which has an office in Manchester, has appointed a chief happiness officer, whose remit is to “keep everyone in the agency smiling by circulating fun videos, inspiring messages and uplifting emails”.
Rebecca Longbottom, who was appointed to the post last month, said one “positive takeaway” of the pandemic is that firms “have acknowledged they have a duty to support the mental wellbeing of their people”.
“It’s very much rinse and repeat for a lot of people at the moment, whether it is work or personal life, and that alone can be demotivating and sometimes extremely lonely.
“A typical day of being chief happiness officer is to learn about the team and find out what’s on their mind – what’s making them happy or troubled, what they’re looking forward to and what they might dread.”
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Working remotely means, for Rebecca, email is her “primary weapon” as content she distributes “can be tailored to suit each person individually or be shared across the agency”.
This content can range from mindfulness apps and virtual experiences to inspiring quotes, music and recipes.
“We have all had to adapt to the way we work from home,” she says. “One-to-one meetings, a video chat on Teams or a simple phone call can make a positive impact on someone’s life. I personally find it rewarding when people engage with my content to make a connection with someone they wouldn’t usually interact with.”
As a chief happiness officer, Rebecca says she has “creative licence to inject joy, support freedom and provide a voice to every single team member”.
“It’s vital to encourage people to get involved and realise that they’re not alone. Feeling valued and part of a work family can also improve an employee’s personal life. From a business perspective, making people smile, lift moods and create conversations, sparks team positivity and is proven to boost productivity.”.
Beattie has continued to recruit over the course of the pandemic, and have taken on 12 new starters over the last three months.
“It’s important to remember that most new starters don’t experience the social elements that are usually part and parcel of working in a new office. It can be tough for many.
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“We have arranged face-to-face inductions for our new starts as well as spending lots of time on Teams and phone calls.
“Social integration, even if it is virtual, is more important right now than ever before. As chief happiness officer, I have the best job in the agency. It gives me the opportunity to help everyone feel they belong.
She adds: “If I’ve learned anything this year, it’s realising that as a team, we’re in this together, and if we support one another, we’ll emerge happier, stronger and much less worried about what’s going on in the world around us.”