Looking after your team’s well-being

Our framework has tools to help social care, early years and childcare organisations create workplaces that support well-being for the people who work for them.

Well-being in the workplace
Our e-learning module, based on the framework, explains the ways you can support well-being in the workplace.

Positive workplaces can enable staff feel involved, valued, and trusted so they’re happier and healthier at work. These are things you can do now to start building a positive workplace for your teams.

Being a positive and supportive leader

Compassionate leadership

Compassionate leadership is a way of leading people which focuses on listening to, understanding, empathising with, and supporting, other people.

It’s a good way of working, because it helps the people we lead to feel valued, respected and cared for, so they can reach their potential and do their best work.

There are great resources out there to help you understand more about compassionate leader.

(These resources may not be bilingual or accessible. We’re not responsible for content produced by other organisations.)

• Course: An introduction to leading with kindness and compassion in health and social care – The King’s Fund
  A free course about compassionate leadership.
  
• Free compassionate courses from Health Education and Improvement Wales
  Opportunities for you to learn more about compassionate leadership.
• Compassionate leadership principles – Gwella
  Explains the building blocks of compassionate leadership.

Having supportive conversations at work

Good communication with individuals and teams is key to creating a positive workplace. These tools will help you have supportive conversations about work or well-being.

(These resources may not be bilingual or accessible. We’re not responsible for content produced by other organisations.)

• Well-being conversation guide (for managers) – Learning@Wales
  This is an online tool for NHS and social care workers. It’s a set of questions to help you find out what support the other person needs. We worked with NHS employers, trade union partners and Welsh Government to develop it.
• Guide to supportive and difficult conversations – NHS Scotland
  This guide explains the skills you need, and gives you hints to have a successful conversation.
• Video: preparing for and having a 'cuppa conversation' – Gwella
  This video suggests ways for you to prepare for and have a difficult conversation with someone you work with.
• Social worker well-being and working conditions: good practice toolkit – BASW
  This detailed good practice guide includes tools to help you support the well-being of social workers in your team. It includes information on reflective supervision, which helps you understand your team members’ strength and limits, and how you can support them at work.

Connecting with other people is one way to look after your well-being.

As a manager, you may find you need support to better manage your team, or your team may benefit from talking to people in similar roles in a safe space. Peer support is a great way to do this.

Building good relationships with your peers can give you:

• ideas or learning to help you do your job
• an opportunity to be listened to in a safe space
• an opportunity to get advice from people going through similar experiences.

We run our own peer support sessions and can train you to set up your own peer support group.

Keep an eye out for our upcoming sessions on our events page.

If you’re struggling with your mental health and need to talk there's always someone who can listen. These free helplines can give you information, advice or support.

• Samaritans
  You can call Samaritans for free 24 hours a day, seven days a week on 116 123. If you need someone to talk to, they’ll listen. They won't judge or tell you what to do.
  
  If you’d like emotional support in Welsh, you can call the Welsh language line for free on 0808 164 0123. It’s open every day, 7pm to 11pm.
  
  
• C.A.L.L. helpline
  A confidential listening and support helpline if you need to talk to someone about your mental health. It’s open 24 hours a day, seven days a week.
  Freephone: 0800 132 737
  Text ‘help’ to 81066
  
  
• National bullying helpline
  A helpline to help you find out what steps you can take to deal with bullying at work. It’s open Monday to Friday, 9am to 5pm.
  Phone: 0300 323 0169
  
  
• SHOUT
  A 24/7 text service, free on all major mobile networks for anyone in crisis, anytime, anywhere.
  To contact SHOUT, text ‘FRONTLINE’ to 85258
  
  
• Childline
  If you're under 19, you can call 0800 1111 for mental health support.
  
  
• NHS Wales is a health advice and information service.
  Call 111 open 24 hours a day, every day.
  
  
• Mind
  The mental health charity Mind has information on ways to help yourself cope during a crisis. This includes calming exercises and a tool to get you through the next few hours.

We run regular events and sessions about well-being for managers. Keep an eye out on our events page.

If you’d like to join our online well-being community, email wellbeing@socialcare.wales to find out more.

We believe creating spaces to connect and develop relationships can lead to lasting, positive change.

'Your well-being matters' community

This is a space to connect with people who have a shared interest in the well-being of the social care, early years and child care workforce.

We want to explore, share, collaborate and learn from one another to make a difference to day-to-day practice.

The well-being community is for leaders, managers and people working in care to connect and collaborate together in one safe space.

As a member of the community, you’ll:

• find well-being news, events and resources
• get to hear and share good practice, and float ideas or challenges
• be able to build relationships and find ways to collaborate
• find information about support services available to you.

Join the well-being community (this link will take you to our community platform)