Cardinus has partnered with a leading coach and mentoring service, NVW Virtual Coach, to offer business leaders, managers and employees support during these difficult times.

With the lockdown extended for another 3 weeks and the likelihood of, at best, a phased return to work, many of us will continue to remain remote workers. For some, this may be easy to adapt to, for others this continues to pose challenges.

This period of uncertainty will affect everyone in different ways, and some won’t necessarily want to raise their fears with their line manager, HR or even their co-workers. And, even if they did, will you have the time to spend with them?

In the early days, when the adrenalin was flowing, you, your managers or employees might have been able to cope more readily. But as lockdown fatigue creeps in and people begin to tire of the uncertainty and anxiety, do you have the systems in place to support them?

Adaptation to Adjustment

A recent article by Dr Sarita Robinson and Dr John Leach suggests that the feeling of fatigue people are experiencing is related to the mental workload associated with COVID-19. In the article, they suggest that it could be the situation that is making us tired. We look at some of the ways you can address the issues of health and wellbeing here.

There is generally a period of adaptation that occurs when people start a new phase or routine in life, such as going to university, moving to a new city or country, or starting a different job.

Adapting to these changes is usually a phased approach. “Full functional adaptation” takes around three months in total. We’re not near that yet in the UK, and may not entirely get there. So adapting fully to this new lifestyle may never come.

That leaves us in the transition stage that can leave us feeling low and exhausted. Add to that a wider stress and anxiety and your staff could find themselves feeling highly stressed. Coaching provides an opportunity for employees to reflect upon the situation, talk about some of the issues that they are facing and overcome their stress.

What the coaching offers:

• Somebody to talk to in a totally confidential environment either on the telephone or video conferencing or your own system if you have one
• Listening and just being able to get things out of your/managers/ employee’s head can make an amazing difference to psychological wellbeing
• A non-judgemental discussion and by asking questions, you wouldn’t ask of yourselves, will give them greater clarity

Expected outcomes for employees:

• While feeling isolated, this can offer somebody to talk to
• An opportunity to clear the head so you can focus on your work and family
• Talk about fears and anxieties in confidence
• Feel better, work more efficiently, live more optimistically
• Adapt to working from home
• Become more motivated

Cost of the solution:

Sessions will be up to an hour. 30 minutes at £40, or 60 minutes at £80. They will be arranged by email [email protected] and should be able to happen on the same day as the enquiry.

Find out more:

NVW Solutions is a long-established mentoring and coaching service headed by Neil Williams, an Accredited coach and Coaching supervisor, as well as having a senior management and plc board career background. With a network of experienced and accredited coaches across the UK Neil can off this service on a strictly confidential and impartial basis.