In 2015, Clearfocus Mental Health and Communications Training started life after a successful counselling, psychotherapy, and hypnotherapy company decided to shift focus to the business-training sector. 

 

Five years on, and Clearfocus Training provides specialist mental health and communications training to businesses and organizations up and down the country. Covering many core areas and subjects, including Mental Health in the Workplace, Mental Health Awareness, Conflict and Resolution, and Effective Communication among others, Clearfocus Training always looks to develop a safer working environment. 

 

But who is Clearfocus Training? This article aims to give you some background information on who we are and what it is that makes us qualified to help you and your business with mental health and communication in the workplace. 

Open and clear communication in the workplace is one of the most important aspects of running any business, whatever the industry or sector. In fact, we’d go as far as to say it’s essential for both employers and employees alike. Poor communication at work can lead to a range of potential problems which can have an adverse effect on staff performance and colleague relationships. 

 

Is this an area where you or your team needs to improve in 2020? Here we’ll look at some of the best ways to help become a better communicator at work with effective communication between team members and managers. 

However much you love your job, there’s nothing quite like looking forward to taking some time off. It could be a duvet day, a long weekend, or even your annual 2-week holiday in the sun. Whatever it is, you’ll have a clear vision in your mind about what you’re going to do and how you’re going to spend that valuable down time. But there’s just one thing standing in your way, and that’s getting organised at work to prepare for your time off. 

 

Holidays and time off away from your work is essential to your health and wellbeing. Escaping from a full and stressful workload gives you valuable space and time to really get away from it all and spend time with friends, family, and loved ones. And taking a step back helps you recharge your batteries, reduce your stress levels, and get some much needed perspective on your workload. 

 

Though a time of happiness and celebration for many, for some, coping with the pressures of Christmas and all that goes with it can be overwhelming. And in the workplace, many employees can feel the effects of Christmas taking its toll long before the office shutdown. So, what can employers do to help their staff deal with Christmas stress in the workplace? 

 

The run up to Christmas should be something to look forward to as many businesses look to end the year on a positive – and festive – high. At one of the busiest times of the year for many businesses, the mid-winter period can leave employees with the feeling they’re not coping or performing as well as they should. 

 

The way we communicate to our employees can often affect the results they are able to generate. Naturally, the more positively we communicate the more influence we have over positive results. However, being a manager is not easy, there is sometimes the sense of being put on a peddle stool and others forget that you are just as human as anyone else. From time to time, being human can mean using these 3 phrases, which you should absolutely try to avoid. 

 

Mental illness is certainly not a new phenomenon. What is new is the conversation surrounding it. Mental health affects our psychological, social and emotional wellbeing. Basically, everything that cannot be seen by the naked eye unless it is known what to look for. 

 

The mental health movement has certainly seen an increase in businesses taking notice and implementing mental health measures. But statistics show that employers are still more willing to cram their workplaces full of first-aid boxes and teach CPR than they are to focus on mental health. 

 

This is largely down to the following three reasons: 

 

 

Raising awareness is great – mental health is more documented now than ever before. But this can only go so far to breaking down the barriers surrounding mental health, much in the same way that creating noise around plastic in the ocean can only go so far to stopping the issue. 

 

The letter, which had backing from big names like Alistair Campbell and Len McCluskey, argued that cost should not be a consideration because spending money on improving workplace mental health is an investment. 

 

‘Each year, workplace mental health issues cost the UK economy almost £35 billion, with 15.4 million working days lost to work-related stress, depression or anxiety. But the cost is not just financial’ they said. 

 

‘Left untreated mental ill health impacts a person’s relationships with friends and family and ultimately their quality of life.’ 

 

 

 

 

The symptoms of seasonal affective disorder are the same as normal depression. Unlike all-year-round depression, however, SAD is triggered by a lack of exposure to sunlight (or so it’s thought). This cycle of depression begins in autumn or winter and starts to improve in spring as the nights draw out. 

SAD sufferers will generally experience any of the following: 

 

 

Since Jodie Whittaker’s entrance onto the scene, eagle-eyed Whovians have been in awe of her portrayal as the energetic life force that is the thirteenth Doctor.  

 

The new take on the age-old series has opened up entirely new conversations that go beyond the programme itself. In regenerations gone by, Doctor Who has certainly become less subtle with the social allegory. 

 

It got us to thinking. What has the long-standing BBC show taught us, and its millions of viewers, about mental health?