Return to work rehabilitation specialist Working To Wellbeing has launched a new line manager helpline, with an initial focus on supporting employees suffering with long Covid.
The telephone-based helpline aims to enable line managers to talk through their concerns and worries and get guidance on how to help team members who may be experiencing the wide-ranging symptoms of long Covid.
It is available to new and existing clients and is supported by a webinar for all line managers and the wider workforce to explain the purpose of the service and address initial queries.
These include what a return-to-work programme might look like, what reasonable adjustments would be helpful for colleagues, what the main symptoms to be looking out for are, and how to best support a colleague should they come back to work, either remotely or in the workplace.
Dr Julie Denning, managing director and chartered health psychologist at Working To Wellbeing, (pictured) said: “We want to minimise the considerable burden that sits now upon a line manager’s shoulders and give them the personalised support they need.
“We believe this specialist service is a one-of-a-kind for line managers and seeks to meet the draft guideline from NICE which emphasises the importance in upskilling line managers in talking about mental health so they feel supported and skilled to perform their line management duties.
“We agree and believe the same thinking should be applied to physical health conditions too, like long Covid.”
Dr Denning added that the firm wanted to provide tailored, individualised guidance for line managers to enable them to do their job as best and efficiently as they can.