“Hello, my name is Lydia Hartland-Rowe, and this is today’s brief check-in on Friday, May 29th, just saying a little bit about what has been coming in on the survey and what we understand from the podcast listens, and letting you know what resources we are working on based on what we have been hearing.

A lot of people do have time off work this week, and a half-term break and we can see that fewer people are looking at the resources or listening to the podcasts than most weeks, with fewer survey results too. Hopefully this is partly good news, as it might mean that people really are taking time away to rest, which continues to feature as a key area that people highlight. And maybe also doing some things that can feel enjoyable, a way to switch of – time with friends, family, and trying to reconnect with the good things there are about a sunny week in the UK in May. But the few comments there are, and the fact that the podcast listens don’t seem to have a particularly strong direction, – so, lots of people are listening to lots of different things, fits a bit with a feeling that people may at the moment be finding that the next bit of this long haul could place a lot of emphasis on personal responsibility, for decisions, for choices, and for keeping going. So in the survey we saw that the need for praise and acknowledgement was really present, suggesting that it matters as much as it has done during the more apparently acute period of the crisis that we keep connections going and help each other to keep going. The survey free text also gave a picture of practical worries coming to the fore; having enough money to pay the bills, as well as feelings about being overwhelmed, and mental health concerns going forward.

In the next week we hope to be adding podcasts and resources that will be relevant to what we are hearing. We will have another podcast offering a mind-body focus, another on sleep, something on compassion fatigue, and something prepared with those working in childrens’ social care in mind. It is really important to try and have a flexible outlook on what is happening, to be ready to encourage and enjoy colleagues who are feeling more hopeful and energised, and to be ready to recognise and acknowledge the reality that this is a situation that will hit some of us really hard at times and that this makes sense and needs the right kind of attention at the right time.”