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What Does the Rule of Six Mean for Employee Wellbeing?

What Does the Rule of Six Mean for Employee Wellbeing?
06 April 2021
 

As England returns to the rule of six, what can bosses do to help support their employees as lockdown restrictions ease?

As part of Boris Johnson’s latest COVD-19 lockdown easing measures, you can now meet up outdoors with friends and family you do not live with, in a group of up to six from any number of households or a group of any size from up to two households.

Coinciding with the Easter Bank Holiday and the return to British Summer Time, with lighter evenings and more opportunities to socialise, the average home working day may begin to change.

 

Encourage Finishing on Time

 

A recent Benenden Health report found that almost half of UK employees (46 per cent) have experienced their job become more stressful in the past two years and as many as four in ten (38 per cent) haven’t felt supported by their employer during the COVID-19 pandemic.

As temperatures rise, the evenings become lighter and the chance to welcome long-missed friends and family into gardens, there is an opportunity here for employers to encourage finishing work on time for some much-needed socialising. 

Previous lockdown restrictions throughout winter meant social activity was extremely limited, and with there still being very few daily commutes providing a reason to get out of bed, the blurring of home and work life has been exacerbated. As other mood-enhancing solutions such as visiting the gym are not currently an option until later in the month, meetings outside may be a lifeline for some.

 

Positive Effects of BST

 

In addition to the COVID restrictions of the past few months, social activities have too been curbed by the darker evenings that the time change brings.

Although we have had more light in the mornings, this occurs when many of us are either still in bed, or indoors getting ready for work or school. That means that we’ve experienced less usable daylight in the evenings to do the things we enjoy in the outdoors or in social environments.

As a result, health and wellbeing can be impacted significantly, leading to conditions such as seasonal affective disorder (SAD), and people who are nervous about being out and about when it’s dark can become more socially isolated. 

The relaxation of lockdown measures, combined with more exposure to sunshine, outside space and time with others, is hoped to positively affect England’s workforce.

Picture: a photograph of two people sitting on a picnic blanket on some grass, with some plates of food

Article written by Ella Tansley | Published 06 April 2021

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