What can leaders in business and in sport do to create genuinely inclusive environments that enable people to be their true selves and feel a sense of connection? And how can employers, sports clubs and other institutions step up to take a lead on the mental health and wellbeing agenda? These were the questions driving the recent Randstad UK webinar with rugby legend Gareth Thomas; and Mental Health Awareness Week is a good time to reflect on these and other priorities.
The recent webinar held the mirror up to both the world of work and the world of sport and contained some strong messages that really resonated with me. Here’s a snapshot:
* Have we made progress on inclusivity in the business and sporting arena? Some maybe, but nowhere near enough. Gareth came out as gay in December 2009; the following year he was voted the most influential gay person in the UK in The Independent on Sunday Pink List and received Stonewall Hero of the Year award. But, 12 years down the line there are still very few openly gay athletes across elite sports. On the recent webinar, Gareth laid down a marker on the need to accelerate change. For employers, creating a genuinely inclusive culture is increasingly recognised as a major factor for staff retention and attraction. Same for sports clubs looking to reach out to new players, coaches, volunteers and supporters.
* How can we better understand and pre-empt wellbeing challenges and the priorities for workers and sportspeople? Listening is a good start. Randstad Marketing Director Adam Nicoll set the scene with some recent data on what people expect of their employer and their working life. Check this out: 34% of people would rather be unemployed than unhappy in a job and 38% wouldn’t accept a job that doesn’t align with their own values. The game is changing, employers are having to step up. For sports clubs, the focus is also increasingly on regular check-ins in terms of how players (and all those involved in the club) feel about the whole environment, not just the on-field activities.
* Making this change happen must be a shared mission. In the words of Gareth Thomas: “Creating an inclusive environment is about being proactive rather than reactive; it is about creating ‘allies’ in inclusivity”. Interestingly, a significant number of respondents to the Randstad survey felt that the values and purpose of their current employer DO align with their own. So, I guess the message here is don’t ‘settle’ if you are working for an employer where this isn’t the case!
* On a more cautionary note, 1 in 5 people say they don’t feel like they belong at work. This needs to change; sport and business must become building blocks ‘belonging’ and create genuine and lasting connections. This is especially topical within the context of this year’s Mental Health Awareness Week which has combatting isolation and loneliness as its central theme.
Inspirational stuff from Gareth Thomas and plenty to reflect on. The big takeaway from the webinar for me is the role that employers and sports clubs can play in driving both widespread social change as well as individual wellbeing and fulfilment. Mental Health Awareness Week is an important staging post and an annual reminder of why this matters; the encouraging thing is that more and more businesses and sports clubs are recognising wellbeing as a perennial priority.
