What did the Chambers do?

Governance & Policy approach
20 Essex Street has created a Chambers’ Wellbeing Statement of Intent, this is a short statement of principles, with links to well-established policies which support members and staff wellbeing.
Wellbeing is currently overseen by the Equality & Diversity Committee which has appointed two welfare officers.
This approach is intended as a precursor to a longer policy backed by a more formal wellbeing committee structure and appointment process for welfare officers.

Mentoring
Chambers also has in place a mentoring scheme for Members of Chambers.

Employee Assistance Programme
All arbitrators, barristers and staff have been enrolled on the Health Assured EAP scheme for helpline support.

Other wellbeing related initiatives:
Providing weekly Thursday evening drinks and chambers morning tea (every term) to encourage members to get together.

• Introducing tailored, small group professional development training; training business development staff on working together to improve collaboration, communication and networking.
• Offering all barristers and staff weekly yoga sessions in-house (in the Summer these take place on the roof to further promote health by boosting vitamin D levels).
• Initiating a Wednesday lunchtime running club along the river bank for a weekly bout of group exertion and chat.
• Offering barristers and staff an opportunity to attend a ‘Pilates at Your Desk’ workshop in-house which looked at exercises which can be done at your desk and advice for better posture to improve movement and comfort.
• A nutrition workshop is also planned for those interested with practical advice on how to make the best choices in individual circumstances.

What were the results?

• Barrister and staff engagement in activities has increased.  More varied opportunities to get-together has led to a greater sense of community and collaboration.
• Professional development which is easy to access, physically and financially, means barristers and staff can learn skills/techniques to be more time efficient leading to more time for leisure and family. This has helped in terms of staff recruitment and retention.
• Starting work after yoga has led to feedback such as “It was a really nice start to the day and it’s so nice to have this as a Wellbeing initiative. Love a bit of yoga!”, “enjoyable morning yoga session. I feel like I’ve had a workout – but also relaxed and limber.”

Tips

Don’t:

• Implement initiatives all at once. Many working environments are conservative by nature and will question or be sceptical if proffered too much at once. Gradual roll out will organically instil a culture of wellbeing and support.
• Force anyone to attend. Not everything is suitable to everyone. Quite often peer feedback leads to buy-in.

Do:

• Build a small team of dedicated people to push the initiative forward.
• Canvas ideas and interview a range of suppliers for any training. Each supplier will have a distinctive style which may/not offer the best approach to your workplace. It also promotes buy-in from the community internally knowing that the market has been reviewed to ensure the most suitable contractor is supporting their needs. You will also be amazed at the connections everyone has which can lead to discounted or even complimentary services.
• Remain determined; once momentum begins, the programme and enthusiasm will build on itself.