Health and Well-being at DLRC

With mental health challenges on the rise, there has never been a more important time for companies to support the health and well-being of their employees. A commitment to supporting and nurturing the well-being of staff is a highly important aspect of DLRC’s values.

There are several methods through which DLRC aims to enrich the value it provided to employees, across their professional and personal lives.

Well-being Champions

DLRC’s well-being initiatives are coordinated by our Wellbeing Lead and a team of Wellbeing Champions, all of whom have been trained by the mental health charity, MIND.

DLRC’s well-being champions are always looking for new ways to encourage and support staff to look after their mental and physical well-being. These include:

• Promote and develop well-being provisions, gather feedback, and update provisions as feedback is received
• Promote an inclusive and supportive culture and break down any stigma
• Lead by example
• Assist any employee in accessing/utilising:
• Help or support they may need (signposting)
• Wellbeing tools available to them
• Information on mental health and wellbeing
• Listen without judgement and with confidentiality (unless a risk is posed to themselves or others)

Implementing the approaches above has taken multiple forms, across activities, campaigns and promotions. Examples of activities include:

• Promoting particular health campaigns through poster displays, emailing colleagues, giving out leaflets and updating colleagues at meetings you attend and your team meeting (e.g. World Mental Health Day, National No Smoking Day)
• Organising activities, e.g. a lunchtime walk, book club or hobby group
• Encouraging colleagues to participate in well-being initiatives/challenges
• Championing and promoting relevant health messages and events
• Role modelling and promoting a healthy culture within the workplace

Our Wellbeing Champion’s role often overlaps with other support provided by DLRC, one of those being Lunch and Learn sessions.

Lunch and Learn

Lunch and learn sessions are a regular feature at DLRC, with topics covering health and wellbeing, charity, further learning and internal resource sharing. These informative talks are held by members of staff, or often feature a guest speaker or topic expert. The concept behind them is to utilise time efficiently to provide additional resources and toolkits – on a professional and personal level.

Our most recent Lunch & Learn was set up by DLRC’s well-being champions and hosted by Tony Collier. Tony is an ambassador, awareness speaker and volunteer for Prostate Cancer UK.

Tony joined the Lunch and Learn to share his story, educate DLRC staff on the impact of Prostate Cancer, and most importantly share how it can be prevented. Tony uses his story not to scare people, but “to shock them into doing something positive about their prostate health”.

After being sent for a medical at the age of 45 by the company Tony worked for at the time, Tony was told he was borderline clinically obese. This came as a shock to Tony, who played table tennis just below county standard and often engaged in social squash matches.

Following the news, Tony decided to take a proactive approach to his health by joining an informal running club. Two years later, Tony’s running club was affiliated, with the club members, including Tony, deciding to set themselves the challenge of running a Marathon.

7 members of the club entered the Amsterdam Marathon in 2007, by which point Tony was 50 years old. After completing the Marathon Tony swore never again, but in reality went on to say ‘never again’ another 18 times – completing 19 marathons between the ages of 50 and 59, in addition to an ultramarathon.

Tony’s running achievements didn’t stop there, going on to complete many other races and ultramarathons. But, at the peak of his fitness, Tony unexpectedly started experiencing pain in his groin, which continued to get progressively worse. Assuming the pain must be caused by exercise and overexertion, Tony opted to visit a sports injury doctor.

Given an MRI scan, Tony could tell there was something untoward when he saw the look on his doctor’s face, having received the results of the scan from the radiographer. Tony was immediately sent for a chest x-ray, blood tests, and a full body CT scan – a daunting process for anyone.

Following even more diagnostic tests and biopsies, Tony was sadly diagnosed with incurable prostate cancer, which had already spread outside of the prostate – an indescribable feeling.

Tony was given a worst-case prognosis of 2 years, which is now 6 years ago. The 6 years have been filled with gruelling, life-changing treatment for Tony, including the removal of the male hormone testosterone. The side effects of his treatment have included weight gain, reduced muscle mass, reduced bone density, hot flushes, fatigue and loss of libido. All of which take a toll on your mental health.

Despite the trauma of the experience, through counselling and support, Tony has been able to rediscover the joy in the everyday. And, is now using his diagnosis as an opportunity to shock and educate people into doing something about their prostate health – before it’s too late, as it is for him. At the same time, he is spreading words of encouragement to live every day as if it’s your last.

Tony later found out he had a right to a PSA blood test at age 50 – a test that could have found his cancer 10 years earlier, had he known. If Tony’s cancer was found at 50, his cancer would likely have been curable.

Through inviting Tony to share his story and educating DLRC staff about the risks, symptoms and statistics of prostate cancer, DLRC wellbeing champions hope to be part of the prevention of late-stage diagnosis.

Talks like Tony’s are an essential part of DLRC’s Lunch and Learn program, designed to fulfil, enrich and exceed DRLC’s duty of care requirement for employee health and safety, including wellbeing.

To learn more about prostate cancer, use Prostate Cancer UK’s risk checker, or browse related resources click here.

Mental Health First Aiders

Another form of support DLRC provides is in the form of Mental Health First Aiders. DLRC has several Mental Health First Aiders, who are there to support staff if they or a colleague is in a crisis.

DLRC’s Mental Health First Aiders are trained to:

• Spot the early signs and symptoms of mental ill health
• Start a supportive conversation with a colleague who may be experiencing a mental health issue or emotional distress
• Listen to the person non-judgementally
• Mental Health First Aiders
• Assess the risk of suicide or self-harm
• Encourage the person to access appropriate professional support or self-help strategies.
• Escalate to the appropriate emergency services, if necessary
• Maintain confidentiality as appropriate
• Complete critical incident documents as and when necessary
• Protect themselves while performing their role

In addition to Mental Health First Aiders, DLRC also always provide easily accessible Mental Health Crisis Help Lines. DLRC hopes that Mental Health First Aiders will never be required, but they are always there if they are.

The Bigger Picture

DLRC are great believers that health and well-being are directly linked to employee satisfaction. By providing the tools and platforms for staff to nurture their mental health and well-being, DLRC are able to contribute to the happiness of the whole team.

DLRC views employee satisfaction both as an end in itself and as vital to achieving excellent output for our clients. As such, we provide unparalleled opportunities for professional development and advancement within the company as well as a range of robust policies to ensure that employee mental health and well-being are provided for.

As a result, DLRC had the honour of being awarded an Investors in People Silver Award in 2021. This Award is a recognition of our exemplary investment in our employees and the resultant employee satisfaction.

Our employees feel well supported, part of a team, and listened to. Moreover, they feel that they are encouraged to achieve their best, are trusted, and trust their managers and senior management to do what is best for both employees and the company.

For more information on DLRC’s ESG & well-being, careers, or to contact our experts use the links below.