Being apart together – Enable Infrastructure’s internal initiatives during lockdown

Being apart together – Enable Infrastructure’s internal initiatives during lockdown

February 24, 2021

As the light at the end of the tunnel finally seems visible, we thought we would update people on the internal initiatives Enable Infrastructure (formerly known as BCM Construction) have been running for all staff across the Enable Consortium to ensure people feel connected during these difficult times.

With a large amount of our staff now being advised to work from home, it is easy for remote staff to begin developing feelings of isolation and disconnect from their organisation and their fellow employees. Therefore, Enable Infrastructure have employed several exciting activities and initiatives to help reduce this feeling amongst staff.

Within our organisation we found that working at home makes it harder for employees to disconnect, with studies showing that not only do workers send and receive more internal emails than before the pandemic, but their workday is also now almost an hour longer. Enable Infrastructure knew this need addressing, hence why active initiatives such as our Yoga Fridays, Walking Competitions and the 3 Peak Challenge have been introduced.

To elaborate, each Friday on our Lunch break we have employed a virtual yoga instructor (Betsy) who has been getting our staff up from their desks into an environment that allows them to disconnect, strengthen their bodies and try something new. This has been a great success across the board, and for those who cannot join live, the sessions have been recorded so it is accessible for everyone. Further to this, we have also been encouraging our staff to get out at lunch with our monthly step competition. We first ran this fun challenge in November, by placing staff into groups of three, the team with the highest number of steps would win a prize. Because of the success, we will once again be running the challenge in March.

As mentioned above you can see that the Enable consortium will be taking on the 3 Peak Challenge in July this year, where each climber will have the opportunity to raise money for their chosen charity. This is one of the most challenging trekking challenges in the UK and involves climbing the highest mountains in Scotland, England and Wales (Ben Nevis, Scafell Pike and Snowdon), one after another – with an aim to complete the challenge within 24 hours. This has created a community of individuals sharing tips and training ideas, and we cannot wait to update you on the challenge one complete.

Finally , we also have some communities such as fantasy leagues in the premier league and 6 nations as well as lunch groups which have proven to be beneficial for people to have some non-work-related discussions. This helps staff break away to have that important contact with others.

Managing Director Shane O’Halloran has been a big advocate for these initiatives and has had this to say: “At Enable Infrastructure one of our Core Values is that ‘We Care About People’, never has this been more important for our business and our people. We understand the pressures we are all experiencing as carers, home-schoolers, household providers and those who are feeling vulnerable and shielding. This range of initiatives is aimed at providing a small bit of relief and a small bit of ‘me time’ perhaps for staff to focus on their wellbeing. We seem to be reaching some respite from the COVID-19 pandemic, as Spring approaches and the Prime Minister is talking about releasing the country from lockdown, the world will be forever changed and this is sure to bring about some positive changes to how we make that vitally important work/life balance”.