SPECIAL REPORT MENTAL HEALTH MATTERS


RAY OF SUNSHINE MICHELLE HUGHES


Each month, T


Holidaysplease employees, together with Beachcomber Tours’ Sarah Archer (top left), enjoy a Mauritius-themed online event


“ Another big concern has been


income. Holidaysplease agents work on a commission-based model, and when travel came to a halt so did their pay cheques. The company set up a £100,000 support fund for its homeworkers in financial difficulties at the start of the pandemic. “That did really help because


it made everyone feel a lot more secure,” says Edmond, pointing to the fact self-employed agents haven’t been entitled to government financial support. “We’ve continued to go on and


on, working probably more hours than before, and with no money to show for it,” he explains. “It has definitely taken its toll.”


A problem shared Edmond says he had to stop a couple of weeks ago. “I got to the point where I needed a break,” he explains. Hailing the support he received


from Holidaysplease, he says: “I can ring them and just say I need


travelweekly.co.uk


a break and that’s absolutely fine. They appreciate that, and their words would be ‘you’ve got to get some down time then – come back when you’re ready’.” When Edmond joined the


company, almost three years ago, he opened up to his colleagues about his generalised anxiety disorder, and says he felt very able to speak about it to them. “When I started, I didn’t want


to mention it at all, then a couple of months after, I just started chatting. Instantly, the moment I chatted about it, they were completely open and


CONTRIBUTE If you would like to contribute to T


ravel Weekly’s Mental Health


Matters series, or to nominate someone who has been a Ray of Sunshine, email: natalie. marsh@travelweekly.co.uk


ravel Weekly features an individual who has gone above and


beyond to keep morale up among colleagues and business partners. This week, our Ray of Sunshine is Michelle Hughes, sales team leader at Holidaysplease


Keeping the team motivated has been a


challenge. I’m very, very lucky – my mental health is great; I’m in a really good place. But we all have to have the belief that we are going to come out of this, because it is tough. Every day on the screen, when we


log in, there’s a motivational phrase. I’ve been mixing these up with jokes based on conversations I’ve had, or funny sayings. It could just be something silly, but some days it’ll be about mindfulness and others it might be about best practice. We make sure every single person is phoned at least once a week to make sure they’re OK. Lately, these have been welfare calls rather than checking whether they’re taking enough enquiries or have converted high enough – that’s irrelevant sometimes. The calls are about how are they feeling. If I just say ‘How are you?’, they say ‘Fine’. So instead I ask, ‘How have you been? What’s been happening? What have you been up to?’ I have been encouraging them to do something every day. A lot of people suffer with


anxiety. I think it’s the lack of control; understanding and recognising they can’t do anything. I always try to get


them to tell me something positive that’s happened in lockdown. The key thing is taking time


to recognise they haven’t failed. So many [homeworkers] are just struggling – with the uncertainty, the misinformation and with not understanding everything – and that’s where we as a team come in. It could mean going through their


workload with them or getting them to write a list. I try to understand their concerns. We have around half the team who really suffer with their mental health and it’s a real eye-opener to me. It’s important to recognise their limits – accepting what they can do and getting them to understand that that’s OK.”


Michelle Hughes


honest. They wanted to know more,” he says. The company’s sales managers


have also offered support and are in regular contact with homeworkers. “The majority of the time,


especially during the pandemic, it isn’t them ringing us to try and boost sales but just to check we’re OK,” says Edmond. Head office staff are planning to


return to the office in September, with a flexible working policy tailored to individuals who want a mixture of


working from home and the office. And Reeves says mental health


and wellbeing must not slip from the agenda. “It’s going to be very easy once we get back into the swing of things to let it fall by the wayside and think people only needed support throughout the pandemic, but that’s not true,” she emphasises. “It’s an ongoing thing, which we’re


hearing more and more of. “So hopefully, people will


continue to recognise that and continue to think of new initiatives.”


12 AUGUST 2021 11


PICTURES: Holidaysplease; Shutterstock/graficriver_icons_logo


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