Your Working Ways – Reset campaign

Learn about what's available at UCL to support your mental health and wellbeing. Reflect on your working ways and be inspired to make small, achievable changes to support you to be well at work.   

National Stress Awareness Month

The theme for this year’s National Stress Awareness Month is ‘taking action in creating a positive change’. For UCL this is an opportunity to increase our own awareness around how working habits can positively and negatively contribute to work-related stress and motivate people to make small changes to make a difference to their mental health and wellbeing.   

Since Provost’s request in April 2022 for Workplace Health to review data available on prevalence of stress at UCL and to identify sources of stress; the Managing Work-Related Stress policy has been revised, and new guidance and toolkits for staff and managers has been developed. Work has also begun on workload, identified as the most significant cause of stress, in which workload allocation principles are under development.       

We all have a role to play in managing stress. Firstly, it is important to understand the early signs of stress in ourselves. Secondly how we can alleviate the stressors which are within our control.   

As part of Stress Awareness Month two stress briefings will be held to inform staff of the resources available and the processes in place to support both staff and managers in managing work related stress.   

Mental Health Awareness Week

Mental Health Awareness Week is an opportunity for us all to consider our mental health and how we can take a preventative approach in managing mental health problems and reducing the impact of these, or to stop issues from developing in the first place.   

UCL is committed to supporting the mental health of staff, Workplace Health is dedicated to ensuring the mental health and wellbeing is considered and factored into policies, training opportunities, working ways and that the right support and resources are available for staff.  

Your Working Ways – Reset campaign aims to support you by promoting good mental health and with managing work-related stress by showing you how to the access resources available to you when you need them. 

The main event for this campaign is Being Well at UCL Fair. This is an opportunity to visit over 15 stands showcasing the breadth of support available to staff at UCL, from Workplace Health to Digital Accessibility, to Rewards and Benefits to Personal and Professional Development Programmes. Meet colleagues, learn about their roles and when you might call upon them for support or advice.  

We will have a prize draw for anyone who signs up to attend the fair or scans our QR code on arrival. Prizes include free subscriptions to Headspace and a free one-year gym membership for Bloomsbury Fitness! 

We will be holding two Lunch and Learn sessions led by UCL academics, Professor Leslie Gutman on Workplace Wellbeing and Behaviour Change and Dr Victoria Garfield on the Importance of Sleep. We are also running Nearby Nature Trails to encourage staff to take a lunch break and get outside, which are proven to reduce stress and improve concentration.   

There will be the opportunity to join two practical mindfulness workshops and experience first-hand this science-based practice. Within the sessions there will be the chance to reflect and discuss your experiences, consider the benefits and how you might incorporate mindfulness into work and life.