Caledonia Housing Association own and manage over 7,000 properties across eight local authority areas, employing 186 staff in a broad range of roles.

The organisation believes in taking care of its employees, and its Wellbeing Strategy includes a range of activities and support in relation to physical, mental, and community wellbeing.

Its mental health support has included mindfulness programmes, growth mindset and resilience training, managing difficult conversation workshops and advice and information in relation to mental health and home working.

Furthermore, the organisation has invested in Mental Health First Aider certification and training so that it has a group of 20 dedicated mental health first aiders across the business who are available to support their colleagues with any concerns they may have.

All staff have access to a £300 Wellbeing Allowance to spend on physical health support. Some employees invest this in membership of a healthcare cashback scheme which covers optical, dental, physiotherapy, and private consultant support. Staff can also choose to use their allowance to pay for gym membership, personal training sessions or the purchase of fitness equipment.

The organisation also invited speakers from voluntary groups to help introduce the idea of ‘giving back’. Employees created their own initiatives and introduced volunteering in the local communities. This helped make a difference for the organisation’s tenants and has had a positive impact on wellbeing of its staff. It has further supported this by introducing paid days of volunteering leave for all employees.