The worklifebalance Podcast

In this Episode Duncan Moore, Director of a Community Interest Company 'Let's Get Out' shares his insights and passion providing outdoor activities to Young People.  Activities incorporate: bushcraft, hiking, forest school and Duke of Edinburgh expeditions, providing young people with the opportunity to explore that adventerous side within themselves, build on their confidence, resilience, communications skills and team building / working together skills. Being outside, being in nature - the natural environment, 'letting go' of tech/mobile phones - provides the space and place for young people to re-connect with others and enhance their overall wellbeing.  This is an invaluable listen and an experience that not only benefits our Young People, but can also benefit us 'grown ups' too.  

Julie has an extensive background and experience working within HR and advising clients/employers on a variety of matters.  Through her own personal lived experience, Julie is so very passionate and a great advocate in raising awareness of mental health & wellbeing in the workplace.  In this Episode there are lots of questions we can be asking..... How are we supporting ourselves? How are we supporting our staff? Are line managers regularly 'checking in' with their staff to ensure that they are 'ok' or is it more  'checking-up'?  Are companies focussing / spending money on 'Health' as much as 'Safety' as part of the H&S budgets.  Simple steps and reasonable measures can make a huge difference to helping us to stay well and aid recovery.  Let's take care of ourselves, take care of each other and take care of our people.

Hope ......... we are now turning a corner We will all experience emotional / mental health challenges at some point in our lives.  And with the arrival of Covid there have been so many additional challenges presented to us: loss of freedom, autonomy, jobs, loved ones, health and so many increased emotions of sadness, confusion, frustration, anger , worry and more.  As lockdown eases and as Hope increases with Spring unfolding and the roll out of vaccines, how are we adapting? What can workplaces consider as we 'return' to the workplace or not?  This is a great listen with Tricia sharing her wealth of experience and knowledge of what is going on 'out there' 

"Trust that the Education will follow...." Alison oversees the Children & Young Peoples division at an incredible Counselling Charity which provides much needed support within it's community and a number of secondary schools too.  In this Episode Alison shares her insights into the various challenges being faced by our young people; recent evidence based research showing the benefits of school counselling and the hope of a gentle transition back to school, acknowledging the variety of childrens circumstances and needs.

Believe you can..... Be inspired.. CEO Nigel G Honey has had a successful career within TV and Film Post Production industry sectors.  In this Episode Nigel shares his experience of living with an invisible disabilty for some 20+ years, the challenges he faced, along with his drive and determination through the adversity of those less supportive.  Through his own experince, Nigel has a strong desire and is motivated to help others.  Nigel's Editing Academy provides the opportunity for others, like him, to make an impact and gain more inclusion within the TV & Film Post Production Sectors.    

This is such an uplifting Episode that is sure to bring a smile and provide you with inspiration.  Nicholas shares insight into his own experience of mental health difficulties as a young man in the 80s and how he was able to work through some tough times with the help and support of good (and now life long) friends.  And because of his own experience, he is so very passionate about helping others to feel better and be able to open up conversations around mental health and wellbeing.    From early 2020 unbeknown to Nicholas an amazing journey was about to unfold - from Fancy Dress Friday fun time with his children dressing up to a Joe Wicks work out to sitting in on work meetings and daily activities as a Fancy Dress Super Hero, Film star and other surprising fun characters within the work-place, bringing much needed joy to work colleauges, to friends and within his community.    Nicholas has been raising £1000s and continues to raise money for 6 charities close to his heart (some local / national), one of which is the NHS (see justgiving).  Perhaps unsurprisingly these uplifting & fundraising activities during 2020 and into 2021 attracted much media attention which included Nicholas joining Zoe Ball on Radio 2 and BBC Breakfast live to million of viewers.  

How have you adapted? How are you adapting? and what are you considering going forwards? Whether you are part of a business or running your own business marketing will be an integral part to your overall success.  Sophie shares her own personal journey and provides professional insights into the challenges of the past year and how to adapt to changing circumstances and at times the unknown.  And as a mum of two, like many of us, Sophie has had to juggle the demands of work, homelife, schooling  and all that that entails - we talk about that all important work life balance.

Some 10 years ago Patrick had a heart attack and was in a coma for four days - this was a pivotal time in his life for him to commence a journey of change.  Business had been going very well, but life had also been extremely hectic, stressful with an ongoing continuous demanding workload - things had to change.  Patrick attended various development programs including being a student of Tony Robins and as his knowledge and understanding grew he felt something was missing... he created  "The Code of 3" a 3 point simple system that significantly helped to create lasting change with: Focus (around Health, Relationships, Personal Growth & Finances), Balance and Purpose. A great listen, very thought provoking and may help you to embark on a journey of change. Some questions we can ask ourselves....What do we want?  Why? What is being happy?

Enhancing your Health and Wellbeing.  Be inspired to try something different and experience the joy and laughter with this wonderful and very talented lady... Lauren Silver.  Lauren's creativity, charm, warmth and wealth of experience enables her to help people, teams, workplaces, schools and other community settings come together, re-energise, re-connect and find the joy and laughter (increasing those 'good' near chemicals) helping us and each other to feel good.  Lauren has performed is the most incredible venues, such as the Sydney Opera House, Edinburgh Fringe and Hong Kong Academy of Performing Arts.

Some years ago Emma's son sadly lost his dad to suicide and through the experience of this sad loss, with lack of support and knowledge she was driven to gain greater understanding of how we all uniquely manage and experience loss of a significant person in our lives and help others.  We touch on the myths around the 'expected' griefing process and the additional loss of our plans, hopes and dreams and managing anticipated grief / loss of a loved one too. This Episode was recorded just before Christmas 2020 - a time when our memories and feelings can be heightened by those who are no longer with us.  Let's open up more conversations around grief and loss and be able to talk openly about the people who are no longer with us.

We all have a responsibility to make a positive impact within our working / home environments and community settings, with organisations positively and actively enhancing caring and ethical ways of doing business and emotionally investing in staff, improving engagement and improving wellbeing ("doing good, is good for people and good for business". Richard Collins is Founder of CSR Accreditation and he shares some inspiring insights and successes from the past 18 months.  This includes a more recent success providing accreditation to one the the largest NHS Trusts - amazing work.

2020 has made many of us focus on our health and take note of our physical and mental wellbeing.  If you are wanting to improve your health, listen here and take notes from Natural Chef - Jo Keyes and NLP Practioner Anya MacFarlane.  Both these ladies work closely together helping people to re-evaluate what's important, how to start making adjustments to improve their health and what to consider.  Perhaps you could do with a helping hand to work towards that 're-set button' for 2021?  When our health is in a good place, we can feel so much healthier, happier and increase our resilience to the daily demands of our busy lives.

Do you have the mindset of a Champion? This is a great listen with Nick Butcher, who's business aligns itself with the effectiveness and efficiencies of lessons learnt from Formula 1 Racing.  Nick explains the importance of Mindset and as we approach the New Year, how to help support & keep employees engaged and how to plan when dealing with th unknown.  We also discuss some of the companies incredible supportive charities: Halow and Race Against Dementia - both charities founded by Racing legends.

This is an incredible charity supporting Young People with their mental health and wellbeing within it's community and school environments. Soulscape provides a safe place, space and the opportunity for our young people to talk about life and have day to day discussions around some 'tricky' and at times 'embarrasing for others' topics.   In this Episode CEO Nick Barnett shares his vision and goals for the Charity in pursuit of spreading additional much needed support and work into surrouding areas to Wokingham (Bracknell, Newbury, Slough etc).   Perhaps you or your organisation can help in some way? Nick is so very passionate and dedicated to this cause, like so many other small charities they could do with additional helping hands and addtional funding.

Is life just too intense? Are you at breaking poing? Is there something deep inside of you that just says 'I want to live my life differently"?  Well this is an episode not to be missed.  Natalie is an incredibly insipiring lady.....she's worked the hectic city life in various countries over the world, is a wonderful wife, mum of two fabulous boys, founder of a charity - DDH UK (passionately devoted to), author / writer and successful business woman. With all of her devotion, resilience and determination there just came a time when things needed to change, a change of circumstances, a new environment was needed and as Natalie would say "if not now, then when"?

Simon and John are two great guys with a wealth of knowledge and experience working within the Recruitment Sector.  Their business ... ATP Technical helps bring companies and candidates together, building towards life long careers.  I n this Episode we talk about the current job market, what to consider if you're seeking a new role, looking forward to better times and future opportunities.

This is an awesome Episode with Mental Health Consultant and Trainer Peter Larkum. Peter has a wealth of experience, understanding, sensitivity and humour around mental health and wellbeing and is passionate to get more and more people talking openly and honestly about mental health.  To embrace discussions around mental health and as Peter would say.... understand The Good, The Bad and The Ugly. Our Health incorporates both physcial and our mental wellbeing - let's understand it the best we can, get support when we need to and know that recovery is possible.

This has been a tough year for many of us and caused many additional strains and stresses in the workplace too - decisions have not been easy.  Understandably leaders have struggled to communicate openly with their staff and conflict difficulties have come about whilst adjusting to working from home. As a manager, leader, business owner this is a great listen with some helpful insights to open communication.    "Being courageous, honest and authentic creates a pipeline for connection rather than a barrier to communication”  -   

With the current and pressing challenges of Covid19 many of us are being impacted in someway be it in the workplace and working from home.  In this episode we discuss the growing concern in mental health and wellbeing issues; what employers can be doing to help their staff; digital fatigue;  considering counselling as a preventative measure and campaigning to secure funding for mental health support in our education systems in the hope of providing cruicial and much needed support for our Young People.

Never has it been more important than now to take care of our health. Are you experiencing increased stress and strains? How is your day structured? Do you have headaches, should/neck pain, lumbar pain, low mood, generally not feeling great?  In this Episode Anita will be reminding us of a 'whole being' approach helping us to stay well and minimise issues.  Anita also shares her personal health journey during 2020 and provides an inspiring example of changes made to get her own health back on track and feeling in a optimum place of wellness.

One not to be missed - as Covid19 continues to impact our society, jobs, employees, employers are having to adjust and manage various challenges.  In this episode we discuss very current conversations that are going on right now....the Furlough scheme, un-furloughing staff - returning to the office; the new Job return scheme; employee and employer wellbeing, keeping staff engaged and sadly redundancy and what employers can do to help that process.

If you want to make a difference supporting young people, gain greater insight in your understanding of Mental Health, learn more about the emotional and mental illnesses that impact our young people and be part of a community of people helping to reduce stigma and discrimation, then consider the Youth Mental Health First Aid Course.  In this episode I provide an overview of what the course is about and who it is aimed at......those that teach, train, care for and live with young people aged 8 to 18.

In this Podcast, Simon provides some great content helping us to understand the process and benefits of Coaching.  He also shares insight into his personal journey and the benefits of coaching at a time when experiencing depression and anxiety. In addition to this we discuss the changes in working circumstances since the arrival of Covid19, talk about Values and the importance of keeping to a daily structure / routine, working on the small steps to help build positive new habits.  

In recent months the working world has significantly changed with job losses in some industries and increase in demand in others.  In this Episode Colin Yoshiaka-Smith shares some great information around cost effective employment incentives - getting people into work through: apprenticships, traineeships and Kick Start Scheme.  We also touch on other considerations to hiring staff and companies maintaining their brand / integrity when dealing with high volume job applications.

Colin is Group Business Director at EYC Global with a wealth of experience in Recruitment, Talent Management and HR. This is great listen for those seeking a new role / starting a career, supporting someone with career guidance or wondering what future business to develop.  In this episode we gain insight into the reality of the current job market and how the working world is changing for the future.  We also cover growing industry sectors, shrinking sectors, how our education systems are preparing our young people / or not? and the increasing demand for skills in the area of tech and AI.  

Busy / stressful work? Have a family? Going through a divorce/divorced? Parent alienation? Taking care of poorly parents? Not feeling things are 'right'? When we reach that mid-life zone there can be a whole raft of demands going on in our lives.  Gary was dealing with all of these elements and came to a significant turning point, where things just had to change. This is a really powerful and insightful episode where Gary shares some of his journey...making some key changes towards being happier, content and focusing on creating good memories & experiences.

How is your relationship with your body image and what impact can it have on us at work? This can play a huge part in our day to day lives, in our confidence, self esteem, wellbeing, diversity and inclusion and more.  This is a really thought provoking discussion - we talk about the Body Image Awareness Program which includes 20 people sharing their lived experiences, to be aware of 'banter', how negative image is affecting men too and acceptance of of our body image.  Emi is truly passionate about raising awareness and understanding around this topic - a great listen.

Padma Knowles is truly passionate about Values and the importance of knowing our Core Values as guiding principles in our day to day lives.  Within an organisation Values can help to provide collaborative, positive, respectful working cultures and as an individual help us to to align our own values to that 'right' job / organisation.  Do you really know your Core Values? How do we choose and prioritise our them? A great listen and one not to be missed.

Want to re-ignite energy into your workplace? reduce stress? enhance working relationships and the health and wellbeing of your staff?  Lauren is an incredible lady providing unique, engaging and interactive experiences to help do just that.  She is a very talented trainer and theatrical clown providing bespoke workshops for organisations and community settings.  The purpose of her work is to help us to find the fun and laughter, reconnect with each other, enhance working relationships and promote overall Health and Wellbeing. A great episode to listen to.... say yes more! be comfortable in failing and enhace team work by helping your colleagues to look good.  

Rekha has spent some 20 years caring for others as a Diabetes Nursing Specialist and has a wealth of knowledge and understanding of the importance in taking care of ourselves.   We live in a frantic and hectic world which can create a lot of stress on a day to day basis.  Through Rekha's own experiences and in supporting and caring for others she now trains and inspires others to practice Mindfulness.  In this session we gain insight and understanding of Mindfulness - how it works and the benefits it can bring to our daily lives be it at home and or at work.  And we also get to experience a short mindfulness session at the end.  

Are you eating for good Health?  Never has it been more pressing for us to take our health into our own hands to keep well and healthy. Jo Keyes from Time to Nourish provides some fundamental points to steer us in the direction of good health.  In this Episode Jo shares her key Principles for healthy eating and insights into some important nutrients that we could be missing out on.  Are you hydrated enough? keeping your blood sugars balanced and eating a variety of coloured foods? And are you getting enough Vitamin D, Zinc and omega 3?  So much great information to take away from this one.

Sarah has been working within the field of Eating Disorders for many years.  In this Episode we gain an insight into understanding Eating Disorders (eating too little or too much), the triggers, the behaviours and for all of us what to consider with our eating habits during lockdown..... routine being key.

"Don't let age stop you" "anything is possible" "if you don't try you'll never know" Like many of us, do we really know what we want to do or be as teenagers or young adults? This is such an inspiring Episode.  Jo shares with us an insight into her experience and journey in training to be a nurse later in her life.  Her earlier roles were in hospitality, airlines, sales and recruitment - whilst they were great experience, Jo never quite felt she was on the right path or had that sense of fulfilment.  She always felt drawn to nursing and took the plunge to pursue her dream in her late 30s.  Jo is an inspiration to anyone considering to do something new, to take a chance and fulfill that 'calling' that dream we have within us. 

Conflict can cause us significant stress and worry, hinder our relationships and impact our productivity be it at work or home.  With the many changes in recent weeks, so many of us are dealing with and managing unexpected circumstances - putting us all 'to the test'.   In this Episode we gain greater awareness in minimising Conflict and gain insight and understanding of the reasons behind Conflict (fear, anxiety, the unknown, mis-communication) and behaviours expressed.

Nick Butcher is Co Founder and Director of HR Strategy Pro - their business uses lessons and strategies taken from the high performance motor sports sector.  Some great insights are provided during this session: understanding what mindest we are in at the moment (with contribution from a recent event organised by Nick with Guest Speaker Damon Hill); considering staff's needs - being aware of their wellbeing and communicating and planning forwards- looking to the 'new normal' (with pro-active and re-active plans)

We need more people in the world like Susan Brett.  The journey of this amazing charity started back in 2010 - with pure determination, a lot of compassion and a desire to help the homeless and vulnerable Susan took it upon herself to gain support from the surrounding community of individuals and Businesses to help those in difficult circumstances.  In this Episode we get to hear about the incredible work and support the charity carries out, how it's currently managing through this present crisis, plans for the future and if you can spare some time right now - help to shop and deliver to the elderly within the Maidenhead area.

This is an incredible and inspiring success story from humble beginnings.  With a captivated audience of 100s of women, I first saw Estelle on the main stage at the Womens in Business Expo Event in Farnborough of 2019.  It wasn't that long ago (a few years before) that Estelle was jobless, penniless and desperately wanting to find a way to work, earn an income and provide for her young boys. She worked many a late night researching and learning about business and along with her siser Leona Burton, they formed a community of like minded individuals through facebook.  It was here that their unexpected and wonderful journey began to now a global network community, with events held all over the world.

Rosie has an extensive background in Leadership Management Training and Coaching.  During this Episode we talk about the considerations of Leading through a crisis, discussing the 'Change Curve' model, how to adapt and how to plan ahead through this challenging period.  We also talk about pros and cons of Coaching at this difficult time and the opportunities that can be found whilst in isolation and preparing for a 'new normal'

Helping ladies in the Thames Valley area.  Smart Works Reading is an independant charity, part of the Smart Works Group.  The charity provides exceptional support to women from a variety of backgrounds and circumstances -  providing interview coaching; helping to build confidence; identify their skills and be able to communicate postively at interviews; styling for interviews and job opportunities through a network of supportive partnerships.  In this Episode we hear about the wonderful work that they do and how they are adapting and continuing to support individuals through this current crisis and looking ahead with the many plans for the future.

I am joined in this Episode by two incredible ladies Shula Tajima and Alison Batey to talk about the charity, Number 22, which provides free accessible counselling support to people within its community.  Year on year there is an increase in demand to support those with various difficulties and with an army of some 100 counselling volunteers, this charity provides an invaluable service to people of all ages at their locations and within school environments too. At the time of this discussion, here in England the population has been in isolation for just over a week.  We discuss the impact that this has had, how the charity is adapting and what to consider whilst many of us are required to stay at home.  

"One size does not fit all" - industries and workloads vary from one sector to another and over a period of time.  In this Episode we discuss what a healthly and productive working environment might look like; what organisations /employers can do and how employees need to be mindful / make the 'right' choices of looking after their own wellbeing at work too.  Peter has worked in the field of Mental Health for many years. He provides an extensive diverse range of Mental Health training; Consults on wellbeing in the workplace and more recently launched his new training video 'Mentality' - accessible for all employees within any sized organisation.  (Please note: this recording took place early March prior to the countries change of circumstances and going into isolation)

A great listen around counselling in the workplace, be it through EAP Services or directly hired counsellors.  With the increased importance and understanding of mental health and wellbeing in the workplace - we discuss the benefits of access to counselling at work.  We also talk about the importance of a positive working culture, positive and supportive leadership and taking care of our own wellbeing.  When we are in good health, we can thrive at work and in our home lives.

Linkedin membership is growing at a phenomnenal rate year on year.  It can be a great marketing tool for you and your organisation to share and view information and raise awareness of your service and or product.  We talk about maximising your profile, what to consider when using Linkedin and some of the latest trends on how best to post information.  It always so great to catch up with this wonderful lady, a true professional, highly knowledgeable and managing two demanding businesses with passion to help others succeed. Use Linkedin more!

A topic close to my heart.  In this Episode I talk to Rob about his role as a Youth and Adolescent Counsellor at the Priroy in London.  We discuss some of the emotional and mental health difficulties currently faced by our Young People, gaining insight into the benefits of counselling and how early support and intervention is key to helping our young people manage and resolve difficulties.

David facilitates TAB - within the Thames Valley Region.  TAB operates as a Mastermind Group providing business owners the opportunity to share, advise and support each other on various business matters.  In this Episode we get to understand what a Mastermind Group is, the purpose of it, how important it is to have passion in what you do, cash flow and that all important Work Life Balance.  A great ending....the reason for being in business... our Personal Vision.

In this Episode the focus of conversation is around Personal Development, Confidence, Assertiveness, Mid-life choices and that Work Life Balance. "Sometimes you win and sometimes you learn"

Jo helps HR organisations and Mums in Business.  If you're wanting to succeed in business then you really need to get your marketing right, saving you time and engery and ensuring maximum interest and business opportunities to be had.  Jo has a wealth of knowledge to share from her working history as an employee to setting up her own business and being a busy working professional mum too.  In this Episode we cover niching, planning, reviewing, re-evaluating, linked-in and Jo's own thoughts on that Work Life Balance.

Getting a job that is ‘right' for you can make a huge difference to your career path and fulfilling your potential. And like wise for an employer, finding that 'right' employee is crucial to the overall success of any company. We discussed challenges for SMEs - how they can compete with larger well known brands, whether to work for a big or small company? Looking at what working culture means and why does it matter?  David Ellery shares some great Recruiting knowledge - have pen and paper to hand!

We all need to take care of our health, which includes our whole being.  In this Episode Tricia shares with us her previous career journey, touching on her own personal Mental Health experiences and talks about her passion around wellbeing.  As a Mental Health Instructor and Mindfulness Coach we specifically touch on wellbeing within the workplace,  This is a great listen.

This is such an important listen.  A high percentage of us that have an Estate or more importantly have children, do not currently have a Will in place or have not recently changed it due to a change of circumstances.   Conversations around preparing for the inevitable and or ill health can be really tough, but it is also very important.  So in this episode Anthony shares some very thought provoking and interesting information, that many of us can benefit from and are likely to require at some point.    

Being outside in nature can provide huge benefits to our wellbeing - psychologically, physically and mentally.  For ten years now David has provided experiences for Corpororate teams, families, schools, young people and charities - helping individuals to reconnect with nature.  With a particular passion to provide the experience to those where the opportunity to get outside and be independent is perhaps not so easy.  What can I say, do listen to this amazing and passionate guy, that helps us to understand the importance of being in the moment, notice what's going on around us and taking time out from everyday life.