At Landmarc, one of our company values is to ‘Take time to take care of yourself’, which means looking out for yourself and others and stopping and stepping-in if you need to. Having clear values not only shapes our organisation but acts as a guide for our people working towards the same goals.
Chris Ockleton, Regional Operations Manager for the South West, shares his thoughts on why this value is important and the need to look after ourselves more effectively.
“It’s essential to recognise that there are two parts to the value ‘Take time to take care of yourself”. The first, ‘look out for yourself’ – is arguably the hardest one to achieve in my opinion. Most people by nature are conscientious creatures who are far too focussed on other people and other additional perceived priorities. If you don’t look after yourself, you won’t be able to look after your colleagues, family or friends.
“The second, look out for others – regardless of what role you are in or what you do, we all have a responsibility to look out for each other’s safety, mental health and wellbeing. Together, have the courage to step in, stop, pause or even carry out a dynamic risk assessment, ask, check-fire, pause, reassess – you will never be criticised and by doing so, you may even protect yours or someone else’s safety or welfare.
“We are trying to encourage as much open, honest and transparent communication about this value as possible. All communication informs and shapes how we conduct our operations and can ultimately make an impact on someone’s safety and wellbeing.
“Maintaining good mental health and wellbeing is essential at any time and Landmarc now has a team of over 100 Mental Health First Aiders across the business who are available to talk. We are continuing to invest in this team, and are giving them the support they need so that they can help others here at Landmarc. I have heard lots of employees talking about mental health and generally having a much better appreciation and understanding of it, and also cases where our first aiders have been able to help staff across our region, so it’s great to see that this is now having a positive effect.
“Having this value in place has helped me maintain a good work life balance, especially in the current climate and challenges that we have all been faced with this past year or so. So many of us can relate to cutting a lunch break short, not taking annual leave or being frustrated with the lack of social interaction. Since the start of lockdown last year, I decided to look after myself better so took up road cycling and now cycle up to four times a week. I feel healthier and happier and my productivity has increased at work.”
“These new values are a great, bold statement and commitment by Landmarc, and will trigger people to consciously think about how they look after themselves and others. I have made a cognisant effort this year to take that break and book leave!”