2020 has been a year of unexpected disruption, change and transition. For church staff team members, as with many others, this will have likely affected the physical location of their work, the quantity of work, the type of work, the focus of their work and their relationships with work colleagues. Huge uncertainty still exists and many changes are ahead. The mental health charity Ginger has recently reported that nearly 7 out of 10 people cite the Covid-19 lockdown as the most stressful time in their career. What approach is your church or you as a manager taking to looking after the wellbeing of your team during this time of uncertainty?
One approach is to develop a Wellness Action Plan for each team member. WAPs are based on Mary Ellen Copeland's Wellness Recovery Action Plans (WRAP) and are advised by the mental health charity Mind as a way of looking after your team. Putting a Wellness Action Plan together is a task to be completed mutually by the line manager and the direct report and is a great way to value the individual's feelings, recognise the challenges of transition and proactively support your team in the times ahead. You can read Mind's excellent guidance here: https://www.mind.org.uk/workplace/mental-health-at-work/taking-care-of-your-staff/employer-resources/wellness-action-plan-download/. Here is what Rachel Slough (Consultant and tutor on the UCAN Managing Church Well course) has to say about developing a Wellbeing action plan: