Silence Is Golden - Easing Working From Home Stress

With the switch to home working for the second time in twelve months, Insurance Corporation of the Channel Islands have been piloting flexible working practices as part of their wider Employee Health & Wellbeing Programme.

One initiative that has been proven to be very popular, is the introduction of “Golden Hour” to every working day.  This allows staff a meeting-free hour, taken between 12:00-1:00 pm, designed to give employees a defined break from online meetings and calls.  Predictably, the ongoing pandemic has dramatically increased incoming queries and questions, which has resulted in extended periods of screen-time and communications, especially for customer facing teams.

Golden Hour is not designed to replace the traditional lunch break;  rather to give staff some time away from meetings and to encourage people to use that dedicated hour as a positive part of their day to use as they please.

“I think that it is fantastic how the importance of taking a break from meetings or for a walk every day has been highlighted within our business.  We encourage a culture of a healthy work / life balance and this Golden Hour initiative proves this approach within our team.  We take mental health support and wellbeing for our team very seriously and this is exactly what the Golden Hour looks to reinforce”, says Sarah Beatty, Commercial Director.

It’s clear that the past year has accelerated the shift to a mix of home and office based working, across all sectors, but specifically, insurance. These positive changes demonstrate that ICCI are adopting a more dynamic approach to support staff through flexible working practice.  Other options staff have been given are having the freedom to choose to continue to work from home one day a week and to be allowed to “dress for your day”, according to their diary.

Mark Marshall, Managing Director says, “everyone through lockdown and the wider pandemic have been effected in one way or another. The Golden Hour is a small gesture to our team, giving them the opportunity to move out of the workspace, read, walk, exercise, whatever they want, to help find a balance between work/life and promote continued good mental health.”