News
15 May 2023
Here at Zenergi we know that employee wellbeing is fundamental to a successful business which is one of the reasons it was a key focus for us in 2022, where we undertook a variety of activities to help our team feel better equipped to manage their own wellbeing, while ensuring we had resources in place to support everybody.
We recruited ‘wellness buddies’ across the business to ensure we had people across the team available to support others. Our wellness buddies are trusted members of the team who are available to listen to concerns and offer support to those struggling with mental health or who just need to talk through a difficult situation. Our wellness buddies have completed training with the British Red Cross around coping with stress, and mental health and how to support someone with Mind.
In light of Mental Health Awareness Week, we have collated some quotes from various wellness buddies, to understand why they chose to become a buddy, as well as the support they can offer people.
“My name is Nicole, and I am part of the People team at Zenergi. I joined the business in 2022 as a Recruitment and Onboarding Co-Ordinator.
I wanted to become a Wellness Buddy as I enjoy helping, supporting, and listening to people. We all go through times in our lives where we may need some additional support. You may not want to speak to those closest to you and therefore I feel it is beneficial having that support at work, as this is where we spend most of our time.
As you will see from the picture, I use exercise to help with my own wellness as it helps work out frustration and release those good endorphins. I used to work as a personal trainer and a large portion of my work was not only training people but also being someone to lean on and listen to my clients.
I love exercise as even when I have had a bad day, once I have trained, I feel like I have achieved something.”
“My name is Nicola, and I am the L&D Coordinator at Zenergi. Day-to-day I work as part of the People team to support with all things L&D and other HR things. I joined Zenergi in November 2022 as part of the acquisition of DB Group (Europe) Ltd.
Supporting, helping, and listening to people is part of my daily role, but I wanted to be able to do more to support people if and when they need it. I wanted to ensure I could help where possible or signpost people if it was outside my skillset. I had a tough time last year, and the support I received from my line manager, Nicholas, and colleagues was invaluable.
To support my wellness, I enjoy nothing more than long walks with my dog, Bruce. He is a Jack Russell Terrier, and I am lucky to live near lots of great walking spots. If we aren’t out walking, I enjoy gardening, Bruce isn’t often helpful when it comes to planting though, he prefers to supervise and sunbathe!“
“My name is Mohammad Thahsin and I work in the Sustainability Team in Briar. My primary role is overseeing carbon compliance, mainly SECR and now ESOS as well as looking into voluntary scope 3 emissions for businesses.
I wanted to be a wellness buddy to first look after my own health and mental wellbeing as well as being able to support those around me who may also be struggling. I think it’s imperative for a workplace to provide resources and support to all employees and for every individual to feel that their workplace is a healthy environment.
My main ways of improving my own mental health are usually by getting in touch with my close friends or by reading books such as “The Name of the Wind””
“I’m Jack and my role in the company is as a senior finance assistant in the team at DB Group. Becoming a wellness buddy appealed to me for a number of reasons, mainly as I have people close to me who have experienced mental health issues in their life so I saw this as an opportunity to learn some more skills on how to support them.
Learning how to help break down the stigma of discussing mental health is important and I hope to use the information picked up in the training to help anyone in our workplace who might need someone to talk to.
The tool I most often use to improve my mental health is exercise. Personally, I find going out for a run, having a kick about with some mates or even just taking my German Shepherd Aoife out for a walk around the block helps clear my head and leaves me in a better space to tackle any problems that I might be facing.”
“My name is Clara and I work within Customer Care in the Linlithgow office. I work with clients and suppliers dealing with queries such as change of tenancies, meter issues, complaints, and anything in between.
Being a wellness buddy is important to me as I have suffered with mental health illness, and I want to ensure that my colleagues know they don’t have to be alone if they are struggling. I believe that a problem shared is a problem halved.
To look after my own mental health & wellbeing, I have a few things I like to do depending on how I am feeling. From walking my dog, reading, or taking time to myself for self-care.”
“Hi, my name is Kieran and I’m an Energy & Carbon Analyst, and I wanted to learn more about mental health and what MIND can do to educate and help the people that need it. I think everyone will be affected by poor mental health, whether themselves or someone close to them, at some point in their life, so I think it’s great to have this training so you know you can improve and assist when someone is struggling. I would recommend this sort of webinar/CPD on a semi-regular basis for everyone. I think mental health awareness is an important part of healthcare.“
“My name is Chloe, I am part of the Query Resolution Specialist team at Zenergi working close with the suppliers to resolve the day to day queries that our customers have. I have been at Zenergi 9 years, so I have been able to develop a good amount of knowledge and experience being part of the different teams here.
I wanted to be a wellness buddy as mental heath is so important and as we know, isn’t talked about enough so I really wanted to learn how I can do my bit to help others. I would say the people that I work with aren’t just my work colleagues but my friends too, its really nice to work somewhere where we have that close bond.
I find reaching out to my friends or family really helps me as I know I can always talk to them. I also love being outside, being active and attending yoga or Pilates classes which I have recently started and really enjoy. I would really recommend yoga or Pilates to anyone, it is such a great way of taking time out of our busy lives which is so important. “
“My name is Georgia and joined Zenergi two years ago. I wanted to be a Wellness Buddy as I have been through therapy myself and want to support others the way that I have been.”
