Staff wellbeing
Find out about the range of tools and resources for University of Sussex staff to look after mental, physical and financial wellbeing. Also see advice for managers and remote working guidance.
- Mental wellbeing
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Looking after our mental health is important for all of us. Just like with physical health, there are things that we can all do to help our mental wellbeing.
A comprehensive guide to mental health, counselling and peer support services in Brighton & Hove and wider Sussex can be found here. This guide includes information for out-of-hours crisis services and instructions for what to do if you are on campus and become aware of an imminent and serious threat to someone’s health or personal safety.
If you're feeling low or struggling to cope, text the word SUSSEX to 85258 for free, confidential real-time support at any time of day or night. This service, in partnership with Shout, is anonymous and won't show up on your phone bill.
Further resources and support can be found here:
My Health Advantage AppMyHealthAdvantage is an evidence-based smartphone app providing in-depth tools and support for anyone to improve their mental wellbeing.
Occupational Health Provider
The University's Occupational Health provider, Heales, has given staff and students access to their health and wellbeing portal - please copy and paste the following link into your web browser https://www.heales.com/tl/GBxqCZYv.
Meditation
Meditation is about self-awareness and getting a healthy sense of perspective. It’s about observing your thoughts and feelings without judgement, helping you achieve clarity of mind.
Video: Meditation exercises by Christopher McDermott, Lead Chaplain
Calm – Here you will find a curation of meditation content hand-picked to support your mental and emotional wellness through this difficult time.
Insight Timer - #1 Free Meditation App for Sleep, Relax & More
Meditation and Sleep Made Simple - Headspace
Togetherall
Togetherall is now available to Sussex students and staff - twenty four hours a day, seven days a week.
The online platform includes tools to help you understand and manage your mental health.
There are self-assessments and recommended resources, as well as a wide-range of self-guided courses to do at your own pace.
It offers a community where members are anonymous to each other and can offer support.
The service is clinically managed with trained professionals available 24/7 to keep the community safe and signpost to mental health services.
Everyone at the University can access the service for free at any time, on any day. Simply register online using your University email address.
If you’re struggling to cope, feeling low or need a place to talk, Togetherall can help you to explore your feelings in a safe, supportive environment.
Return to work guide
IGLOO Guide for Employees [PDF 614.52KB]
Staff Workshops and E-learning
We provide a range of e-learning and virtual workshops for staff to support your mental wellbeing.
Supporting your wellbeing during times of change and uncertainty: In this learning path on LinkedIn, you can gain immediately applicable skills to support your well-being during times of change and uncertainty. Twenty curated courses cover topics such as practising mindfulness and meditation; managing anxiety, depression and stress; calming your mind; and restoring your body.
The following programmes are all available on our staff e-learning platform, LearnUpon. Log in to LearnUpon and choose the category Wellbeing in the Catalogue to enrol on any of these courses.
Mental health in the workplace: Despite increased media coverage, there is still a stigma associated with mental health in the workplace. The aim of this course is to remove or reduce that stigma. There are no easy answers or sure-fire solutions. However, by creating space and time to talk about wellbeing, we can ensure that we are able to support those who suffer with their mental wellbeing and improve our own resilience.
Mental wellbeing and resilience: This short course on mental wellbeing in the workplace covers wellness, building resilience to challenges and general mental wellbeing.
Supporting others: This module explores how to start connections that could help your colleagues. It looks at empathy, creating a listening space, keeping in touch, and boundaries.
Managing your own self-care and wellbeing: This course looks at some techniques, tools and tips that may have a positive impact upon your mental wellbeing. Just like physical wellbeing, we need to constantly monitor our mental wellbeing or fitness, to make sure that we have the right habits.
Mental health: stress less: Using a combination of real-life stories, expert insight and original drama, this course looks at the nature of stress and its impact on our health and explains what we can do to combat it and support our general mental well-being.
Further Resources
Happier Kinder Together | Action for Happiness
How to deal with change and uncertainty during COVID-19
Coping with going into work during coronavirus - If you’re going into work during the coronavirus pandemic, our guidance may help you feel more able to cope. Our information provides tips for understanding difficult feelings, taking care of your mental wellbeing and where to find support.
Bereavement and grief - Information on where to go for support for bereavement, and suggestions for helping yourself and others through grief.
- Physical wellbeing
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Looking after your wellbeing and physical health can be beneficial to helping your mental health. This section includes information on exercise, meditation and getting a good night's sleep.
Exercise
Getting enough exercise and being active can be important for both your mental and physical health. Moderate exercise can help to improve your mood and general wellbeing and help you to feel better about yourself. Regular exercise can also lower the risk of physical diseases, including heart disease, diabetes, stroke and certain types of cancer. Being more active can help you to be a healthier weight.
You can get involved in some of the activities we provide here at the University of Sussex:
Online exercise classes with Sussexsport
Also see:
Activity level for adults.pdf [PDF 534.02KB]
How to fit activity into your working day.pdf [PDF 52.83KB]
Desk based mobility & movement
Eating Well
Eating a healthy, balanced diet is an important part of maintaining good health, and can help you feel your best. This means eating a wide variety of foods in the right proportions, and consuming the right amount of food and drink to achieve and maintain a healthy body weight.
Refer to the Eatwell NHS guide to find out more about the what that looks like in practical terms.
The Eatwell Guide (from the NHS)
Sleep
Getting enough good sleep is an essential part of looking after our health. There are many possible benefits to having enough sleep, such as improved concentration; helping maintain a healthy body weight; and improving immune function. Calm provides a range of resources to help with sleep.
Further Resources
- Financial wellbeing
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Financial wellbeing is about a sense of security and feeling as though you have enough money to meet your needs. It's about being in control of your day-to-day finances and having the financial freedom to make choices that allow you to enjoy life.Financial wellbeing: This website defines the concept of financial wellbeing and provides ideas and support for maintaining it.
Debt and money: This site provides you with the information you need to make the right choices, including help to deal with your debt problems, how to avoid losing your home and how to get your finances back into shape.
Budget Planner is part of the Money Advice Service and provides a free planner to put you in control of your household spending.
How to cope with money worries
Feeling low or anxious is a normal response when you’re struggling with debt.
- Managers: Your responsibilities for the wellbeing of your staff
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As managers and leaders we have a duty of care to support the wellbeing of those who report to us. These resources can help all of us in understanding that responsibility and putting it into practice.
Return to Work guide
IGLOO Guide for Line Managers [PDF 615.43KB]
Long Covid
Those who are diagnosed with Long Covid and for whom there are chronic ill health problems (hopefully rare but possible) could be defined as disabled under the Equalities Act.
If you are a manager of a member of staff who has Long Covid, please be aware of this and consider Occupational Health assessments, adjustments and conversations that check in on how staff are feeling and coping.
Covid-19 Line Managers Guide.pdf [PDF 339.71KB]
Menopause
As a line manager it is important to ensure that anyone experiencing menopausal symptoms gets the same support and understanding as if they had any other health issue. If you manage someone who is experiencing the menopause, please make sure you read the Menopause Policy in the first instance. This sets out the guidelines for employees and managers on providing the right support to manage menopausal symptoms at work. Our Menopause web page has lots of resources and support for managers and staff.
Staff Workshops and E-learning
The law and wellbeing conversations
Managing people requires a variety of skills. You need to navigate productivity, personal development and personal wellbeing of your staff. This course explores the legal side of mental wellbeing and best practice approaches to starting conversations. It also explores the importance of wellbeing action plans. It maps out the challenges that managers may face and where they can get support from within and outside the University.
Log in to LearnUpon and search for Law in the Catalogue to enrol on this course.
Further resources
The Occupational Health Service offers advice on health, safety and wellbeing at work. The service works to prevent work-related ill-health, reduce risks to health from occupational hazards and promote health and safety.
Supporting staff caring for children - information from MIND.
A Guide to Managing Remote Workers and specific, research-based steps that managers can take to improve the engagement and productivity of remote employees.
Keep it real: seven principles for leading virtual or hybrid teams
Building an active culture.pdf [PDF 792.46KB]
Resources to support your employees.pdf [PDF 477.21KB]
Five tips for improving as a manager of a distributed team
How to motivate colleagues when the chips are down
People managers' guide to mental health
ACAS – approaching sensitive conversations about mental health
- Policy, Guidance and Resources to Support Your Wellbeing at Work
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Wellbeing Policy
You can access the staff Wellbeing Policy here.
Return to Work Guide
The Return to Work Guides for Employees and for Managers (found on the Manager's support section here) is designed to help employees and their managers during the first few months of returning to work. They draw from the latest evidence to outline what works, and what does not, when it comes to getting back to work safely and productively.
Wellness Action Plan
The Wellness Action Plan (WAP) is an evidence-based system used worldwide by people to manage their mental health. The WAPs are a personalised, practical tool that can be used by all – whether we have a mental health problem or not – to help us identify what keeps us well at work, what causes us to become unwell, and how to address a mental health problem at work
Wellness Action Plans [DOCX 18.25KB]
Staff Networks
There are a number of staff networks that staff can join to meet and connect with others on campus - please check the Staff Networks webpage for details of all the different groups.
The EDI webpage also provides advice for staff, including resources from national disability charities and organisations, plus details of upcoming events and opportunities for staff.
