Staff benefits update
07 Jan 2021
It’s the first staff benefits update of 2021 with updates on wellbeing support, Making a Difference Awards, WaterAid webinar, Rewarding Exceptional Performance, walking and free Mandarin taster sessions.
You may not feel that 2021 has had a great start. The winter months can be a difficult time and especially now we are in a third lockdown. If you are struggling day to day you can access mental health support anonymously via the 24/7 telephone helpline provided by Health Assured. You can contact the helpline for a range of issues including:
- Mental health information and support
- Stress
- Personal legal information and signposting
- Personal financial information and signposting
- Family issues including childcare and elder care
- Housing and tenancy concerns
- Relationship and marital changes
- Medical information
- Bereavement
As well as one to one counselling our in-house Counselling Service provide weekly workshops for staff and students with a number of upcoming sessions on how to calm the brain.
The Mental Health Foundation shares that, “participation in regular physical activity can increase our self-esteem and can reduce stress and anxiety. It also plays a role in preventing the development of mental health problems and in improving the quality of life of people experiencing mental health problems.” The UOM Sport online store is now live for our #ActiveAnywhere courses with the Early Bird offer of eight weeks for the price of six commencing 11 January 2021. All the sessions that were ran during the first semester will be running again for 2021 including new additions such as power yoga, beginners pilates and HIIT the barre. Download the new Zoom second semester schedule
MCR Strollers
Walking is the perfect exercise to give you a healthy body and mind.The UK government rules for walking (from 5 January 2021) state that you can walk outdoors once a day as part of your daily exercise – by yourself, with members of your household or support bubble, or with one other person. All group walks are currently suspended. You can still sign up for the MCR Strollers mailing list and receive weekly walking inspiration, virtual walks to watch and feelgood videos via mcrstrollers@manchester.ac.uk and Greater Manchester Walking has lots of local routes for inspiration for your daily outings.
Social Responsibility
The Making a Difference Awards provide a platform to share some of the very best social responsibility activities from across the University and celebrate the University’s and individual's contribution to wider society. By entering the Awards you can help make a difference by driving change and inspiring others to act and by sharing your story with others you can make even more impact. You can enter the Awards yourself or nominate a colleague or external partner. The deadline is midnight on 18 January 2021.
Webinar with WaterAid
WaterAid is one of the most popular charities for donations via our Payroll Giving Scheme. They have accepted a request to provide a lunchtime webinar Tuesday, 19 January 2021 (13:00 – 13:30) to talk about how your donations help around the world and for a short Q&A.
Learn Mandarin
Make 2021 the year you start learning Mandarin! The Confucius Institute’s next round of online courses will start from 18, January - so you can study safely from home or wherever you are based! They also have free taster sessions.
Discounts
After Christmas money can be tight for most of us. You can make savings on day to day services and significant purchases via UniDiscounts and Wider Wallet. The Hotpoint Privilege Club offers exclusive pricing on over 850 different appliances including three great brands to choose from, Whirlpool, Hotpoint & Indesit and has the latest secure promo code for you to use.
Keep well and stay up to date with all your benefits and wellbeing options.