“How have you been?”
2020 has been an extraordinary year for all of us. We went through ups and downs since the pandemic broke out, working remotely and staying at home most of the first half; then gradually adjusting ourselves to the new normal. Did you manage to find the silver lining rather than struggling with stress and tons of priorities?
As we strive to maintain a safe, clean working environment for our people, keeping our colleagues’ emotional wellbeing up is just as important to get through such a year of change. Earlier in April, the Group circulated posters that cover topics such as maintaining emotional health and tips of building a healthy relationship.
To further arouse colleagues’ awareness on being emotionally healthy, since May we have organised a few relevant webinars in Hong Kong.
As a start, we invited Psychiatry specialist Dr. Victor Lui to give us a webinar on “Staying Resilient in Tough Times” and managing our stress properly. It covers topics such as the sources of stress, related health risks and various solutions.
In the meantime, the “Power of Mindfulness” webinar in Mainland China introduced the concept of mindfulness as a way to raise self-awareness, strengthen our attention and relax tense muscles and thoughts.
While studies have found that mood disorders such as anxiety and depression are on the rise in today’s society, the public understanding of mental wellness is still inadequate. We believe that a real person’s story sticks in our mind longer than an information-packed health talk, so we launched the brand-new “Anti-Stigma Campaign” and invited representatives from the Hong Kong Mental Health Foundation and Baptist Oi Kwan Social Service to share their first-hand experiences of combating mood disorders from the perspectives of patients, social workers and carers. The two recent webinars have also been transcribed so that colleagues from all offices can re-watch in their own time.
Sharing on anxiety from Miss Wei, person in recovery, and Miss Li, social worker from Hong Kong Mental Health Foundation in June
Interview with Mr Lam, person in recovery, and Ms Siu, social worker from Baptist Oi Kwan Social Service on a depression patient’s recovery journey in September
October dialogue with Lung, carer of a Psychosis and Bipolar Disorder patient, and Ms Lee, social worker from Baptist Oi Kwan Social Service
After each session, we circulated several one-minute mental health guides to present a quick view about the symptoms and treatment of the mood disorders covered in the webinars.
As for timely support, our Employee Abundance Programme (EAP) offers 24/7 counselling services on family and parenting, career and work, marriage and relationship, emotion and other life- and health-related matters.
The Group will continue to offer a variety of initiatives to support our colleagues’ all-round wellbeing. Let’s look forward to a better, healthier 2021!
