Mental Health Awareness Week is here again, and this year’s theme is ‘community.’
As the Wellness Champion at Pier – and a mum and stepmum to two teenagers – every week is Mental Health Awareness Week! I understand firsthand how critical a sense of community is for both my family’s mental health and my colleagues.
In Pier’s 2025 employee wellbeing survey, we learned that 80% of our workforce feel that their workplace influences their mental health.
When we asked them about their social wellbeing, the results also told us that more than two thirds (70%) feel a sense of belonging to a group or community.
But community is a strange thing when you are in a hybrid working environment. Creating and maintaining that connection can be tricky.
On the one hand, eliminating the daily commute can free up time for people to connect with their outside communities – from running clubs and fitness classes, to choirs and book groups (all popular with the Pier team!). On the other, working from home via Teams can feel isolating, with no in person kitchen catch-ups or ‘water cooler moments’ to break up the day.
How we’re building community at Pier
Since we committed to hybrid working after lockdown, after 100% of our employees said (and continue to say) that they value the flexibility to work from home, we’ve been experimenting with ways to strengthen our internal community. It’s a work in progress, but regular feedback through our annual team surveys provides valuable insight. Here are a few things that are working for us:
- Casual online catch-ups
Scheduling a regular, non-work-related catch-up is key. These whole team sessions give people the space to share their lives, interests, and weekend plans. We now do this every Friday morning, and it’s a great way to start the day (and finish the week!) on a positive note.
- Wellbeing Wednesdays
Our ‘Wellbeing Wednesday’ calls are open to anyone on the team. These sessions focus on topics like mental, physical, environmental, or financial wellbeing, with team members sharing experiences and advice on everything from therapy to mindfulness to food budgeting.
- In-person socials
Our team also feedback that they really value our in-person whole team events. From our annual away day in the spring to a summer meetup in August and a Christmas party in December, these gatherings bring us together for food, fun, and the occasional dance-off! Over the years we have bonded over terrarium making, archery, climbing and, most recently, the Crystal Maze and Monopoly Life-sized live experiences.
- Regional hubs for real-life connection
To help combat isolation, we utilise coworking spaces in Suffolk, London, and Edinburgh, with plans for a fourth hub in Bristol. These spaces give teams the chance to collaborate in person, or just share a desk for the day, and allow in person knowledge sharing that is so often absent when you don’t all sit in an office together. Line managers often use them for one-on-one sessions, which is a refreshing change from virtual meetings.
Small steps, big impact
The reality is that supporting mental health in a hybrid work environment is challenging, particularly for SMEs like Pier. Our collective mental health continues to be a global challenge as we all continue to adjust to new ways of working. We know that it continues to be a challenge in our industry, as the PRCA MENA mental health report 2024 shows. But the good news is that small steps can make a meaningful difference.
I was especially encouraged when this year’s survey revealed that 0% of our team felt mental health was an inappropriate topic to discuss at work. For me – that’s a solid starting block.
So, my advice to other small businesses? Keep talking, keep checking in on each other, and yes – keep dancing.
Lisa Smith, Operations Lead
