Highland Council staff have described their experience of lockdown so far, how it has changed their jobs and what the future holds for them in a series of video interviews.
Staff from across the local authority’s different departments were asked a range of questions including what have been the biggest challenges you have faced, what do you think the ‘new normal’ will look like as well as have you learned any new skills or hobbies during lockdown?
Asked about their wellbeing, occupational health and safety wellbeing trainer Jim McCreath said he felt “a bit adrift” for a while but said he now feels much more connected as his team uses more technology to communicate.
Emma Campbell, team lead for the premier mental health service in Highland, said she hoped the ‘new normal’ would encourage people to have a better work / life balance and be more compassionate.
Chief executive Donna Manson said: “These engagement sessions with staff have been a tremendous way of hearing how everyone is getting on, what they have been doing, the changes, the challenges and how staff have been coping.
“I would like to focus on some of these reflections and how this will help everyone with the return to our ‘new normal’. It is the ideas and input from our staff which will help to inform what we could learn as an organisation from this experience going forward.”
You can follow the series on the Highland Council’s YouTube channel.