Following on from our Action Group session on Ethnicity, Wellness and Mental Health. Initial points are below.
The effects of the George Floyd atrocity, coupled with the dis-proportionate number of Covid-19 cases with sections of ethnic minority communities have left ethnic groups, particularly black colleagues, facing fatigue, stress and sometimes anxiety within the workplace.
This is a live document: We are in the process of transcribing the session and will add to this page. Initial Key Points: Please note this is a live document, if you would like to add your points, case studies or experiences to this section, please let us know (email).
The initial key points from the session are as follows:
• Listening sessions to build understanding and awareness:
We have found many organisations revert back to the starting point over the past three months, and re-introduce listening sessions. Key findings were that organisations had found an increased amount of success if these sessions were performed anonymously. However all agreed that there was definitely more appetite to have open and honest conversations during this time.
Organisations that had the presence of exec team members or their CEO found that this accelerate outcomes and actions.
Other ways to gage feedback and highlight lived-experiences have included employee surveys and anonymous chat rooms. It is important to ensure that key actions are taken from sessions as a response and the sessions aren’t just used as a tick box exercise.
* Please share any feedback on findings and outcomes from your listening sessions.
• Toolkits or company-wide resources: To help support black / BAME / ethnically-diverse colleagues:
One employer mentioned launching a company-wide resource around resilience, coping with stress and wellbeing, with a lens on black and other minority ethnic employees.
It may be helpful to create toolkits specifically designed to encourage better support for Black colleagues with lived experience, guidance, etc.
A useful article for employers to support their black colleagues can be found here
*If anyone has any examples of toolkits that they would like to share, please let us know.
• Mental health support (Employee Assistant Programmes):
Ensure that provisions are in place for Black employees, and other ethnic groups, either through counselling, training or utilising mental health experts. If requested, it is important that employees can have the option of access to MHP from counsellors of the same ethnic groups where possible.
• An audit of discrimination policies:
Organisations are reviewing their policies with a lens on recent events and utilising their listening sessions to incorporate findings.
• Distinguishing and identifying needs of different diverse ethnic groups:
Ensuring we aren’t lumping Black, Asian and Minority Ethnic groups as one and taking a one shoe fits all approach.
*Other areas of discussion around ethnicity and wellbeing included: Frontline employees and return to work policies.
GET INVOLVED
If you have any resources or additional comments to the above to include, please let us know.
Initial Key Points: Please note this is a live document, if you would like to add your points, case studies or experiences to this section, please let us know (email).
Notes, contributions and case studies will be included in an article and also help feed into the coffee morning session on 5th August. Please let us know if you do not want to be listed as a contributor. All other information apart from case studies follow Chatham House Rules.
A big thank you for your input to: BBC, Johnson & Johnson, Mace Group, MTVH, Tesco, Network Rail, Moodys, RBS, GSK, Macquarie, Rolls Royce, Virgin Money
Introduction to Investing in Ethnicity initiative. Starts: 1.45mins
• Coffee break session giving tips and advice on coping with work/life balance and additional hurdles throughout this period, includes findings from the previous Action Group, followed by a talk with our experts on wellness and ethnicity
• For network groups and black and minority ethnic employees
* Recorded webinar on Zoom
SPEAKERS:
• Subira Jones a.k.a The Corporate Hippie. Burnout Prevention Consultant and Lifestyle Coach.
• Karim Perrineau, BNY Mellon. Diversity and Inclusion, EMEA
• Bernadette Thompson. Civil Service. Deputy Director Inclusion, wellbeing and Employee Engagement & Co-Chair Race to the top G6/7 network
• Maria St Louis, Channel 4. Agency Sales Manager & C4 Collective Chair
