The end of March was my four-year anniversary as part of the Energy Voice team. On the one hand, it feels like time has flown by. On the other, it also feels like ages ago when the COVID-19 pandemic brought the world to a standstill.
Starting a brand new job as lockdown began was, I’ll be honest, very weird. Anyone else who had the same experience at that time will empathise with the sense of unease and dislocation.
There was no friendly in-person welcome on my first day, no tour around the office with kind smiles and hellos from new colleagues.
Of course, everyone was super welcoming on Teams and phone calls, but things were definitely a bit strange sitting there on my own in the spare room getting ready for a big new job that depended on meeting new people and forging personal relationships.
© Supplied by Brayden SutherlandBut I appreciate it was weird for everyone else too, so the only thing to do was roll up my sleeves and get stuck in, which I did and I’ve never looked back.
Those early days of lockdown did make me appreciate the stress that was put on people’s mental health at that time and it especially shone a light on how this can be amplified when starting a new job.
It’s an exciting time for sure, but can also cause anxiety. In these days of hybrid working when everyone is super busy it can be all too easy to miss the opportunity to say hi and make sure a new member of the team feels welcome.
My key learning from that time and looking forward is to make a proper effort to get to know new starts on the team.
Have a coffee and a chat and make sure they settle quickly both for their benefit and for the culture you’re trying to create in the company.
Hopefully, this is something you can reflect on and take into your own workplace.
One of my proudest achievements over the past four years has been the launch and success of this mental health column in our monthly supplement.
It kicked off with an inspiring piece by Mike Scotland, founder of manUP speakUP, who was our first contributor.
Every month since then we’ve featured moving, educational and motivational columns so I’d like to thank everyone who has contributed a piece so far.
For those who haven’t yet but feel you have something to say, let’s grab that coffee and have a chat. At least we can do it in person these days!
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