It’s International Women’s Day. As part of our celebration, we have hand-picked three Wellbeing Champions within the programme who are doing some amazing work within their workplaces for ‘Inclusion’. 

We recently caught up with Emily Bradley, Senior Administrator and Wellbeing Champion within the faculty of Science and Engineering at the University of Plymouth. Emily has been a Wellbeing Champion for two years and has ensured that wellbeing is part of the culture of the workplace with the added support of her brilliant team members! 

 During our catch-up with Emily, we asked what she does and why it is important to ensure inclusion is at the heart of her wellbeing champion role… 

 In my role as Equality, Diversity and Inclusion Administrator I am passionate about creating a supportive and inclusive workplace where staff are empowered to work at their best and have equitable access to support and opportunities. This is reflected in my role as Faculty of Science and Engineering wellbeing champion and wellbeing team member. 

All of our wellbeing events and initiatives are created and driven by our fantastic wellbeing team made up of professional services staff; Donella Bone and (left to right) Mara Wolf, Stephanie Redmond, Rachel Mortimore, Damien Hipwell and Emily Bradley. We aim to bring people together across the faculty and create an inclusive culture where people feel valued, and their wellbeing and mental health are supported.

 

 

We now have 6 wellbeing noticeboards in buildings across the University where our faculty staff work. These boards are regularly updated with wellbeing events, support available, signposting, wellbeing tips etc. and staff are encouraged to email our team with anything they would like to add. We also have a dedicated Faculty Wellbeing Team email address which we use to interact with staff, share invitations to events and signpost. As a team, we are always thinking about ways we can bring people together and support staff wellbeing to create an inclusive culture in our faculty.

 As well as providing signposting opportunities to show the support available and wellbeing resources, Emily and her team have regular opportunities to come together to do a variety of things everyone can get involved with… 

We have organised many wellbeing-related events and activities. In 2023 we welcomed Jon Gripton from the charity Bowel Cancer West to deliver some informal talks and answer questions about Bowel Cancer and his fantastic charity. We regularly run a lunchtime walking group and more recently have done a

a couple of trips to The Box due to the rainy weather. In March last year, we organised two yoga sessions which received fantastic feedback with staff saying that they have continued to practice in their own time. One of our lovely team members, Stephanie, runs a lunchtime crochet group for both beginners wanting to learn and crochet veterans – it is a great opportunity to meet new people and take a break from our screens.

Emily goes on to further explain the many different ways she and her team ensure inclusion, which not only benefits their team but all the staff throughout the university… 

One of the goals I set as a Wellbeing Champion was to add wellbeing as a standing item in annual staff Progress Development Reviews. To do this I needed to gain support from the University EDI Committee and then put forward the proposal to HR. Wellbeing conversations are now recommended in the manager’s guidance document for annual staff Progress Development Reviews which happen across the whole University. This highlights the importance of wellbeing and allows staff to ask for support.

 We asked Emily if there is anything else that she is planning with her team to support inclusion which may connect with International Women’s Day… 

This year, to celebrate International Women’s Day, we have organised a talk from the University Menopause Network to raise awareness of symptoms and perimenopause, discuss treatments, official advice, menopause nurses etc. This will also be an opportunity to network, share experiences, ask questions, and learn about the Menopause Network events, support and membership. These talks are open to everyone, including all genders, because raising awareness of the impacts of Menopause and how we can best offer support, will help to create a more inclusive working environment.

We’d like to congratulate Emily on the incredible work that she and her team are doing within the faculty of Science and Engineering, it is amazing to see the culture that you have all created which is flowing out to wider systems within the University of Plymouth – creating a positive, healthier, and happier culture for wellbeing, thus improving the lives of all! We can’t wait to see what more you do within your workplace as a Wellbeing Champion!