Leaders and teams are encouraged to offer their colleagues support to stay well at work, and to keep offering it consistently.
Four things you can do right now as a leader
Research shows that effective teams routinely make time to discuss and reflect on what’s working well, what’s most challenging and any difficult decisions made. This helps create space for team members to develop meaningful narratives of their experiences.
One of the roles of a team leader is to facilitate this process and when this works well, psychological difficulties such as moral injuries are significantly reduced.
- Support and encourage staff in taking annual leave to recover and reconnect with their family and friends
- Continue to make time to listen to staff and consider how you can help teams develop meaningful narratives of their experiences (huddles, reflective practice groups, 10 minute end of shift check ins)
- Keep checking with teams regarding how safe they feel in relation to infection control, or other concerns
- Take two minutes to read this article from the Kings Fund on ‘Being Alongside’ your staff: Why conversations matter (opens in a new tab)