Paul McGregor

The workplace isn't always the source of stress and overwhelm.

For the colleague going through a toxic relationship at home.

For the colleague who is finding themselves again after a year of being home with their child.

For the colleague who goes home to an empty, silent apartment.

For the colleague who is struggling with their mental health and is afraid to be alone.

For the colleague who is watching a loved one grow weaker from illness at home.

For many, it can be a welcomed distraction from their home lives and a place where they can feel free and rediscover their true self.

Whether you're a director or a junior staff member, work can be an opportunity to temporarily escape the pressures of our personal lives and redirect our energy elsewhere.

That successful completion of a project, that published article, that comment of appreciation from a manager, that group lunch break could be the highlight of someone's day.

Not everyone needs to bare their soul in order to deal with the worries they're carrying with them, a positive distraction is sometimes all they need to remain resilient and keep going.

However, it is so important that they know they CAN share if they ever needed.

And it's up to the organisation to ensure they've created a psychologically safe environment for that to be an option for everyone.

There is no one size fits all approach when it comes to mental wellbeing but creating a safe space and positive culture at work can have an immeasurable impact on someone's life.

Let's not forget that.

#workplacewellbeing

THIS is one of the most powerful images I've seen.

THIS is what creating psychological safety at work looks like.

THIS is what makes employees feel seen and heard.

THIS is giving employees permission to be human first.

It took me a long time to realise this.


#mentalhealth

Marathon 5 complete. No high quality photos and smiles today… this one was gruesome. 5 down in 5 days, 3 more to go.

Todays marathon consisted of a lot of self talk to get me through, and at times I felt like throwing in the towel, but the feeling I feel now as I sit in my hotel room writing this makes it worth it.

I had my Dad ringing in my ear today, telling me to keep going and beat those hills. And it reminded me of the many times I used to watch him run countless reps up hills, and even though each hill got harder, he kept going.

With each day I miss my family even more but I think the above is a great reminder to teach our children by what we do not by what we say. It wasn’t my dad ringing in my ear telling me to get up those hills that helped today, it was the picture of him doing it himself and not giving up.

My god I miss him.

Life isn’t all smiles. It’s tough at times. But you have to keep going 🙂