Getting involved – Wellbeing & inclusion group by Abbie Little

To gain more insight into life at Gordons, Abbie Little tells us her experience as a member of the wellness and inclusion group.

There are a number of working groups at the firm which trainees are encouraged to get involved with such as the wellbeing & inclusion group, charity committee and the social committee. Throughout my training contract and beyond as a newly qualified solicitor, I am involved with the wellbeing & inclusion group.

Life working in law can, at times, be challenging and high-pressure which is why I wanted to get involved with the group to help develop initiatives and ways colleagues can be supported to make a positive difference in the work environment. Joining the group has been a great opportunity to meet colleagues from different teams who I would not normally get the opportunity to work alongside.

What do we do?

The group is led by Catherine Woodward, a partner and the firm’s diversity and inclusion lead, and meets on regularly to discuss ideas for the upcoming months. We aim to link our initiatives to prevalent and social issues, colleague demand or time of year such as International Women’s Day, Black History Month, and Mental Health Awareness Month.

We also have an annual wellbeing & inclusion survey which is sent to all colleagues to request feedback on the types of activities or support colleagues would like to have or benefit from in the coming year. This ensures we try to meet the needs of employees as best as possible and to provide a focus of what the group will plan.

Even from joining the group as a trainee, I felt like my voice was heard and my opinion valued throughout. Last year, I was able to take the lead on one of our wellbeing initiatives, ‘Wander the World’, in which colleagues walked virtually but collectively to different capital cities across the globe and at each destination reached, we had food associated with that country. Stops along the way included Paris, Madrid and Marrakesh.

Key initiatives:

Some examples of the recent initiatives we have organised include:

• Meditation sessions – Partnering with a local meditation guide and yoga teacher to offer guided meditation sessions.
• Brew Monday – Paired colleagues together to ‘buddy up’ to meet for a coffee/lunch to encourage conversations on good mental health, to tackle the stigma around mental health, and to help people understand and prioritise their and others’ mental health.
• Staff Sessions – We regularly organise sessions for colleagues on a range of topics such as financial wellbeing, men’s mental health awareness and partnering with IDAS, a Yorkshire-based charity to look at healthy relationships – sometimes including lunch!
• Book club session – Monthly meetings to discuss over coffee the chosen book of the month.
• Informative emails – Emails sent to all staff to commemorate and educate on various religious festivals and holidays.

I would recommend to anyone who is starting as a trainee to get involved with the various groups at Gordons, it allows you to meet new colleagues, have a say in initiatives and to take on responsibility at an early stage.