Television and broadband organisation Sky has launched a programme of meetings through which employees can share stories and discuss issues affecting their mental wellbeing in partnership with the charity Frazzled Cafe.
The first Frazzled Cafe meeting will occur today (10 October 2018) to coincide with World Mental Health Day. The meetings will continue to take place on a fortnightly schedule and are open to the 7,500 staff based at the organisation's Osterley headquarters in the UK.
Sky has introduced the Frazzled Cafe programme as part of its commitment to employee wellbeing and aims to provide an opportunity for staff to meet with others and share their personal stories.
Bella Vuillermoz, director at Sky, said: "As part of Sky’s commitment to its employees’ wellbeing, we’re delighted to be able to launch our partnership with Frazzled Cafe today. It’s the first time this brilliant resource has been made available inside a business, making it easy to access while at work and providing a safe, confidential and non-judgemental space to meet others who are feeling frazzled.”
The meetings will have an ideal size of between 12 and 15 participants, and employees can sign up in advance through a password protected site. Sky is not made aware of who is attending; this confidentiality was a key reason for the external involvement of Frazzled Cafe.
The meetings are set up as one conversation, with no side groups breaking out. They will be attended by a facilitator, but they are not intended to be facilitated meetings, and the facilitator's role is to ensure that attendees feel comfortable discussing occurrences in their lives and how they are feeling. Employees are encouraged to speak openly about their personal experiences, and are assured that anything discussed remains confidential.
The launch of the meeting programme has been communicated to employees via the organisation's internal channel, Today@Sky. Frazzled Cafe's founder, Ruby Wax, also spoke on the subject during Inclusive Employers' National Inclusion Week, which started on 23 September, and for which Sky was the national sponsor.
The Frazzled Cafe meetings form part of Sky's Work.Life.Better wellbeing initiative, which includes a Live Well programme that helps employees make healthy food choices and Project Wellness, which comprises a monthly speaker series on mental, physical and financial wellbeing. The organisation also offers gyms at various sites across the country, and a number of other services such as car washes and mail services, to help employees balance their home and work lives.
