CIH president launches mental wellbeing toolkit

The president of the Chartered Institute of Housing (CIH) has launched a new toolkit accompanying her presidential campaign, which encourages the sector to focus on mental health.

Julie Haydon’s Rooted in Resilience campaign aims to make housing providers see the mental wellbeing of their colleagues as a “strategic priority” rather than a workplace “perk”.

According to Haydon, the new toolkit provides “practical resources, tips and systems to enhance wellbeing and resilience in teams and personally.”

It includes a team culture checklist, which offers initiatives that organisations could embed in their daily activities, such as a weekly 10-minute peer check-in and debriefs after high-pressure periods or tasks.

A mental resilience mini-guide is also available, which shows users how to strengthen wellbeing through the use of tools like a “feelings wheel”, while practical activities such as breathing exercises and listening to wellbeing podcasts are encouraged to support colleagues throughout the working day.

Haydon said: “If we want to deliver professional, compassionate services, we must be just as serious about investing in workforce wellbeing, strength and leadership as we are in the upkeep of standards.

“Building resilience means making wellbeing a strategic priority – creating environments where people feel supported, valued and able to grow. These are not optional extras, they are essential.”

The toolkit has been launched during Stress Awareness Month, an event observed across the UK every April since 1992.

It comes after CIH Futures’ Voices of the Future report, published last December, which highlighted growing concerns around stress and workforce resilience, with two in five housing professionals under 35 reportedly experiencing burnout last year, and more than a third regularly feeling tired, stressed or overwhelmed at work.

CIH Futures is a board focused on amplifying the voices of younger housing sector members.