What are the most important training courses I can give my staff right now?
Now that we’re in February, we can officially say that we’re past the ‘January Blues’. However, the sad reality is that there are still a lot of people struggling with anxieties, stress and even depression as a result of the Coronavirus and national lockdown.
This is unsurprising when you consider all of the factors that could lead to poorer wellbeing over the last few months, including financial issues, social isolation, poor physical health, and several more caused by the pandemic.
Right now, there are many people who are still working from home, many who are still furloughed, and many who are also starting to return to work during the pandemic. Whatever their situation, it is essential that they’re offered as much support as possible when it comes to their safety and wellbeing.
In this blog, we want to focus on the importance of providing training during the pandemic and how it can help staff to manage and improve their physical and mental wellbeing, and their effectiveness and productivity whilst at work.
Mental Health & Wellbeing training during lockdown
Providing staff with training during lockdown is a great way to promote positive mental health & wellbeing. It helps to break down the negative stigma surrounding mental health in your workplace, which encourages employees to reach out when they need help - which might be more frequently in this current climate.
Additionally, training staff in certain areas surrounding mental wellbeing can help them to manage a better work-life balance, build on their resilience if things seem to be going wrong, and manage any anxious thoughts they might have.
Managing Anxiety Training
Managing Anxiety Training is an essential course during times of uncertainty.
As the coronavirus pandemic rapidly sweeps across the world, it is inducing a considerable degree of fear, worry and concern in the population at large and among certain groups in particular, such as older adults, care providers and people with underlying health conditions.
In public mental health terms, the main psychological impact to date is elevated rates of stress or anxiety. But as new measures and impacts are introduced – especially quarantine and its effects on many people’s usual activities, routines or livelihoods – levels of loneliness, depression, harmful alcohol and drug use, and self-harm or suicidal behaviour are also expected to rise.
The course aims to help users feel more confident when addressing uncomfortable situations, which are likely to be more prevalent during the pandemic. It also teaches learners about cognitive behavioural therapy (CBT) techniques so that the user can better understand how to approach resolving their negative and anxious thoughts.
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Resilience Training
In times like these, it’s easy to fall into the trap of a “victim mindset”. Providing Resilience Training is a fantastic way of helping employees to pick themselves up and continue to manage the challenges they are facing.
Resilience refers to our ability to cope with the normal stress of life as well as being able to bounce back from crises. Resilience has been identified as a key skill for employees during COVID-19.
In a survey carried out by The Mental Health Foundation, only 56% of adults aged 18-24 said they were ‘coping well’ with stress related to COVID-19, whilst only 65% of adults over the age of 24 said they were ‘coping well’.
Our course aims to help the user understand how to build resilience and deal with challenging situations, maintain good personal wellbeing in the face of adversity, and know what makes a person resilient.
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Health & Safety training during lockdown
Health & Safety Training is just as important for those working from home as it is for those working in an office or on-site.
We understand that working from home poses a number of different Health & Safety risks to working on site, and where we advise that those working on site continue their usual Health & Safety Training courses, we advise that homeworkers are provided with the following courses as a minimum.
DSE Training
Chances are that if you are working from home, you’re probably using DSE of some description. And without someone to advise a DSE user to take breaks and to set up their equipment properly, homeworkers could be putting themselves at risk.
For those people who are working at home on a long-term basis, the risks associated with using display screen equipment (DSE) must be controlled. This includes them doing workstation assessments at home.
There is no increased risk from DSE work for those working at home temporarily. So in that situation employers do not need to ask them to carry out home workstation assessments.
However, employers should provide workers with advice on completing their own basic assessment at home.
Our DSE Training course helps users to avoid RSI, headaches, eyestrain, and back problems when using their equipment. The course is a legal requirement for anybody who regularly uses display screen equipment. It also comes with our free DSE Assessment Tool!
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Health and Safety Training for Homeworkers
The number of homeworkers has increased dramatically since the beginning of lockdown, and it’s likely here to stay. With that said, it is important that employees understand that every employee should have Health & Safety training, regardless of if they work in a fixed place of work or they work from home.
Our Health & Safety Training for Homeworkers course helps the user to understand their own responsibilities and their employers, recognise common risks associated with homeworking, and how to report an accident when working from home.
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Soft Skills training during lockdown
Finally, we come to Soft Skills Training. Improving soft skills can increase staff engagement, motivation and productivity levels, as well as helping them develop personally. Overall, soft skills enable employees to thrive in the workplace.
After almost a year of dealing with the pandemic, employees can begin to lose touch with how they used to work. With that said, many employees would benefit from a number of short courses to remind them of important personal skills.
Time Management Training
Subjective time is the perception of time being tied to experience. Many people will have found that time has gone quickly during lockdown, whilst others will have found that it has dragged.
It is important that people have strong time management skills to remain productive at work and understand how to prioritise tasks and use their time more wisely.
Our Time Management Training can be completed in just 25 minutes and provides actionable tips on how to manage time more effectively.
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Effective Remote Working Training
As previously mentioned, the number of homeworkers has increased dramatically since the beginning of lockdown. It is important that these homeworkers are given all the tools and information they need to complete their day-to-day tasks effectively.
Our Effective Remote Working Training course aims to help the user to understand the importance of creating a productive workspace, how to manage their work day effectively and productively, and how to successfully communicate with colleagues.
