Movember: Salix’s commitment to building resilience and mental wellbeing

After what has been a difficult year for many, it has never been more important to continue to build resilience and mental wellbeing both at home and in the workplace.

Globally, the rate of suicide is alarmingly high, particularly in men. Movember is aiming to reduce the rate of male suicide by 25% by 2030 and a team of dedicated, passionate employees at Salix wanted to take part for the third year running.

To help raise awareness of male suicide and help stop men dying too young, the team have been dedicated to their ‘tash’ growing efforts, with some very strong contenders. A couple of employees wanted to show their support by taking part in #MoveforMovember this year by running 60km by the end of the month.

So far, Salix has raised over £600! If you would like to make a donation, the Salix team fundraising page can be found here.

Salix’s commitment to building resilience and mental wellbeing

Over the past couple of years, Salix has made an active effort to ensure that mental health and wellbeing and building resilience plays an increased role in ensuring every member of staff feels supported, as well as highlighting the organisation’s commitment to such an important cause.

In November 2019, a series of eight mental health workshops were organised for staff to attend, looking at topics such as building resilience, emotional intelligence, managing stress and self-limiting beliefs. A leading psychologist was invited to join the Salix staff meeting to give a talk about mental health and provide everyone with the opportunity to ask any questions.

This support has been carried forward, with a particular focus on actively engaging with staff to improve the opportunities available.

At the beginning of the lockdown period mental health training was delivered to staff, providing knowledge and information about mental illness and how to spot signs in themselves and others.

Further psychologist presentations on resilience were delivered, building on previous sessions to staff, and further workshops on ‘The importance of resilience in teamwork’ are taking place in December this year.

Salix actively follows Action for Happiness and has recently attended a webinar delivered by Dan Goleman on Emotional Intelligence.

These activities, amongst others such as yoga and mindfulness sessions, access to an online portal of information and resources for support with mental health, and internal communication has encouraged and developed a strong culture of mental health awareness across the company.

Vaishni Patel, Client Support Officer at Salix, talks about what it’s like to work for an organisation that so actively encourages mental wellbeing and building resilience.

“I started working for Salix Finance in October 2020. With another lockdown looming, as much as I was grateful for the new position, I was worried about starting amidst a global pandemic. I was constantly wondering if I’d be integrated into the team or if I’d feel a sense of community when working from home but, it was overwhelming to see all the hard work Salix Finance put into ensuring COVID safe travel to work and a COVID safe working environment.

From the commencement of my position at Salix, it is safe to say that the organisation has been brilliant in supporting my wellbeing. Having the initial induction process in a COVID-Secure environment in person really helped me to feel part of the team. Even in the transition back to virtual working due to the November lockdown, Salix have been wonderful in helping all staff to find ways of managing loneliness.

Working for an organisation which puts the mental wellbeing of their staff at its forefront has made the daunting experience of starting a new job, in a virtual climate, an easy, smooth and enjoyable process. I am proud to be a part of a company which works to do all that they can in order to help and support their employees.”