We’re on the hunt for a Community Manager for our most established location, Cigar Factory in Southville.
Gather Round is a growing family of creative workspaces. Our beautiful spaces are specifically designed for creative industry professionals. Our mission is to foster a positive and supportive culture, through thoughtfully designed spaces and a diverse mix of people. Together, we champion a supportive culture of openness, inclusivity and solidarity.
We take time to consider every last detail. Making sure that everything we do, we do with meaning and purpose. Come and join us and work from the location where it all began!
Community Manager Part Time (4 days per week, Tuesday to Friday)
£26k-£28k pro rata
Cigar Factory, Southville.
This part-time position will be predominantly based at our Cigar Factory location in Southville, but we’re looking for someone with the flexibility to work across all of the Gather Round locations in Bristol and Bath when needed.
Monday 28th July or Monday 4th August
Monday 30th June 2025
Gather Round is a growing family of co-working and events spaces. Our beautiful locations are specifically designed for creative industry professionals. Our mission is to foster a positive and supportive culture, through thoughtfully designed spaces and a diverse mix of people. Together, we champion a supportive culture of openness, inclusivity and solidarity.
We take time to consider every last detail. Making sure that everything we do, we do with meaning and purpose.
Gather Round currently has three locations in Bristol and we’ve recently launched a fourth location in Bath.
We’re looking for a highly organised, passionate, creative individual to join our team and help nurture our creative community at Cigar Factory.
Working alongside our Community Managers, you’ll report directly to our Head of Community. Being a close-knit team, each week you’ll also support the Director of Marketing and at times you will report to the company’s two Directors.
You’ll be managing the day-to-day running of the Cigar Factory venue. Ensuring members are happy, have everything they need, and the space is running efficiently. Your marketing tasks will include social media content creation (specifically Instagram stories) and online community management (responding to comments and engaging with our followers on Instagram).
The role is wide and varied. You’ll be tasked with a variety of responsibilities, so we’re looking for someone proactive who can turn their hand to anything from housekeeping and front of house, to supporting event planning and social media marketing.
We’re looking for someone who is fun, friendly and will bring lots of positive energy to the role and our community. Someone whose passion and drive supports our purpose and embodies our company values of trust, openness and inclusivity.
You should be creative at heart, with a keen interest in the local creative community.
Please send applications to [email protected] with the following subject line: Community Manager, Cigar Factory application.
And, in 5x bullet points, explain why you’d be a good fit for the role and attach an up-to-date CV.
We talk a lot about leadership pipelines, talent retention, and gender equity at work. But one of the biggest moments of risk in a woman’s career isn’t when she hits a glass ceiling. It’s when she goes on maternity leave.
Despite decades of progress, research shows that up to 74,000 women in the UK lose their jobs each year due to pregnancy or maternity-related discrimination¹. Nearly half of mothers report negative experiences at work related to pregnancy, maternity leave or returning—and 1 in 5 leave their jobs as a result². And for those who do return? Over 80% say it negatively impacts their confidence, mental health or both³.
These numbers tell a clear story: we are underestimating the scale and complexity of the transition to motherhood. And we are under-resourcing women through it.
That’s where maternity coaching steps in—and why it’s far more than a “nice to have.”
Maternity coaching provides structured, professional support before, during, and after parental leave. It holds space for the emotional, identity, and logistical challenges of becoming a parent while managing a career.
Common coaching themes include:
Planning for leave and managing handovers
Navigating identity shifts and loss of confidence
Returning to work and re-establishing role clarity
Rebalancing domestic responsibilities
Reconnecting with ambition and long-term goals
But coaching isn’t just about performance—it’s also about wellbeing. And that brings us to something that still isn’t talked about enough: maternal mental health.
In my article for Maternal Mental Health Week, I reflected on how easily new mums downplay how they’re feeling.
The six-week postnatal check isn’t enough. Many mothers never say out loud that they’re not okay. Postnatal depression, anxiety, rage, or the long tail of sleep deprivation can linger well beyond maternity leave—and often bubble up again during the return to work.
That’s the missing link: Maternal mental health doesn’t stop when maternity leave ends. For many women, returning to work—often exhausted and unsure of themselves—is just as vulnerable a period. And yet, the expectation to “bounce back” is enormous.
Coaching can’t replace clinical care, but it plays a vital complementary role. It provides space to process the emotional load, build confidence, and plan realistically. And for many, it’s the first time they’ve been asked: “How are you really doing?”
As someone with ADHD, I know how difficult it is to manage the chaos of early motherhood. Executive dysfunction, mental load, and disrupted routines can overwhelm even the most high-functioning professionals. When structure disappears, so can confidence.
For neurodivergent mothers, maternity coaching provides scaffolding. It helps build systems, protect energy, and move forward with clarity—even when everything feels uncertain.
In coaching sessions, I often ask: “What would be the impact of not preparing before maternity leave or return?”
The answers are sobering:
Loss of identity
Lack of confidence
Conflict at work or home
Anxiety over visibility and career progression
The silent question: “Can I still be the ambitious person I was now that I’m also a parent?”
The coaching process brings clarity, strategy, and self-compassion. It helps new parents stay anchored to what matters most, even when the external world is shifting.
If you’re serious about retention, inclusion, and wellbeing, start here. Maternity coaching isn’t a “perk.” It’s a strategic, inclusive intervention that helps people return to work stronger, not smaller.
Support doesn’t have to mean fixing every problem. Sometimes it just means saying, “We see you. And we’re with you.”
Here’s a prompt I often use with clients: “What do you want life to look like in five years and what needs to happen now to make that future possible?”
It’s easy to live in the short term when you’re exhausted. But your long-term goals, values and ambitions deserve space too.
Pause. Reflect. And know that support is out there, coaching included.
A final note: I’ve been using the brilliant maternity coaching framework developed by Frances Cushway, a comprehensive, compassionate and practical model that supports every stage of the transition to working parenthood. It’s been a powerful tool in my work, especially when combined with an ADHD lens.
If you’re curious about how this framework can support neurodivergent parents—or want to learn more about the pilot I’m currently running, you can find more details here.
Footnotes
Pregnant Then Screwed & HR Magazine (2024): 74,000 women lose their jobs due to pregnancy/maternity discrimination annually
EHRC and TUC Research: 1 in 5 women leave their job due to pregnancy and maternity discrimination
Working Families Annual Report (2023): 84% of women face challenges returning to work; 30% receive no employer support
Bristol Creative Industries was delighted to be part of the Culture and Creative Industries Summit organised by the University of the West of England at Bristol Beacon. The event brought together people from cultural and creative businesses and organisations from across the region to discuss the government’s UK creative sector plan which will be published soon.
Officials from Department for Culture, Media and Sport (DCMS) and Sir Peter Bazalgette, co-chair of the Creative Industries Council which advises the government, set the scene including outlining how the West of England is one of the government’s priority areas for the creative industries.
A panel (Ben Shorrock from techSPARK, Charlotte Geeves from Bristol Old Vic, Fiona Matthews from Super Culture, and Nimesh Joshi from ITV News West Country, chaired by Annabel Smith from Centre for Progressive Policy) then discussed the key issues, before, grouped into tables, delegates discussed ideas for strengthening the economy in the west.
The conversations have been summarised into the brilliant list of ideas below. It has been shared with DCMS and West of England Combined Mayoral Authority.
Regional Production Fund and screen agency: Establish a dedicated fund and agency to match creative funding levels in other UK nations. Functions include soft money support, local employment stimulation, retention of post-production services, and enabling regional intellectual property (IP) ownership.
Addressing funding gaps: Ensure long-term, strategic investment to overcome inconsistencies and short-termism in current funding models.
Public-private partnerships: Promote and expand collaborative investment models, taking cues from Creative Wales. Encourage cross-sector funding initiatives.
Bristol Music Fund: Introduce a regionally managed fund sourced from a small percentage of ticket sales to bolster the music sector.
Creative tech investment: Develop a sustainable, large-scale funding pipeline for creative technology ventures beyond the pilot stage.
Cross-sector collaboration: Encourage stronger relationships among creative organisations, universities, local governments, and adjacent sectors.
Higher education partnerships: Foster collaborative projects between higher education institutions and the creative industries, overcoming resistance to commercial partnerships.
Shared data strategy: Develop coordinated, standardised data collection and impact measurement across the sector.
Creative cluster hub: Create a physical and strategic hub to promote connectivity, knowledge-sharing, and sector resilience.
Creative education reform: Advocate for more modular, skills-based learning at further and higher education levels, with links to primary/secondary outcomes.
Freelancer support: Fund paid development and training opportunities to support freelance creatives.
Film/TV entry pathways: Clarify and promote inclusive, sustainable pathways into screen industries.
Talent retention: Tackle affordability and infrastructure issues to retain local talent.
Place-based storytelling: Highlight regional strengths such as the BBC Natural History Unit, social innovation legacy, and cultural diversity.
Unified regional narrative: Promote a cohesive story across urban, coastal, and rural areas to avoid intra-regional competition.
Valuing creative process: Emphasise the importance of creative processes and R&D alongside final products.
Global positioning: Market the region internationally as a cultural hub with strong geopolitical and creative links.
Creative innovation culture: Elevate visibility of values-driven, socially-conscious innovation. Align with broader innovation strategies.
Creative health: Support initiatives at the intersection of arts, health, and policy for societal benefit.
Cultural placemaking: Embed creatives in city planning and infrastructure development.
Creative tech coordination: Improve storytelling, infrastructure, and investment strategies to scale regional creative tech.
Sustained leadership: Build consistent leadership in both civic and business sectors to guide long-term cultural strategy.
Regional coalitions: Establish strategic alliances across key geographic hubs like Bristol, Cardiff, and Cheltenham.
Devolved powers: Advocate for devolved powers in cultural development to local and combined authorities.
Civic engagement: Pilot a Citizen’s Assembly for Culture as a model for inclusive, democratic cultural strategy-making.
Funding complexity: Simplify access to funding, reduce reporting burdens, and diversify beyond dominant bodies like Arts Council England (ACE).
Inclusion gaps: Prioritise equity-focused strategies to support underrepresented groups.
Leadership fatigue: Address burnout and recruitment issues within the creative sector.
Infrastructure deficits: Invest in new and upgraded venues, studios, and support spaces.
The cost-of-living crisis in the UK is still hitting both businesses and their employees hard. As operational costs rise and consumers tighten their belts, businesses face the dual challenge of maintaining profitability while ensuring their staff are adequately compensated.
The key is to empower your employees. In the midst of the escalating cost-of-living crisis, new research reveals a stark reality: One example…87% of hospitality workers’ mental health is worsening because of financial concerns, exacerbating an already challenging situation. With wages stagnating and essential expenses on the rise, workers face mounting challenges, including housing and food insecurity, limiting their ability to save and thrive. According to recent studies, nearly 60% of workers struggle with financial stress, with over 40% citing it as a major concern affecting their overall wellbeing.
Amidst these challenges, one pioneering solution that has emerged is Earned Wage Access, which revolutionises the traditional pay cycle by providing instant access to earned wages, empowering employees to navigate their financial obligations with newfound flexibility and control.
By eliminating the need to wait for payday, new employee benefits providers enable workers to address immediate expenses without resorting to high-interest loans, thereby alleviating financial stress and promoting overall wellbeing.
Recent user surveys conducted by one industry provider underscore this impact, with 92% feeling more in control of their money thanks to Earned Wage Access and 88% being more likely to stay working at their current employer when this benefit is offered.
Another key solution is supporting workers with financial wellbeing benefits and education to reduce financial stress and help them better manage their finances.
These can take many forms such as personalised educational resources, financial coaching, money management tools, employee discounts, and flexible pay options, among other things.
PwC revealed that financially stressed employees are 5 times more likely to be distracted at work, highlighting the potential productivity gains for employers. By investing in these programs, hospitality companies can therefore enhance both employee wellbeing and operational resilience.
Another key focus are smart budgeting strategies which can significantly benefit companies during the cost-of-living crisis. By regularly monitoring expenses, implementing energy efficiency measures, optimising inventory management, adjusting staffing levels based on seasonal demand, and negotiating bulk purchasing agreements, companies can reduce operational costs and improve financial stability.
For employees, smart budgeting strategies are equally crucial. Creating a detailed monthly budget, setting aside an emergency fund, prioritising debt reduction, automating savings, and utilising employee discounts can help workers manage their finances more effectively. These practices reduce financial stress, increase disposable income, and provide a buffer against rising living costs, ultimately fostering a more engaged and productive workforce.
Where do you start? Well, you can talk to professionals such as myself who mitigate these employee risks…or if nothing else have a look at the Government website www.moneyhelper.org.uk where you can find simple and straightforward with tools to direct your employees.
Standard benefits packages won’t cut it for Gen Z. Here’s how they’re raising the bar and what you can do to meet it in 3 easy ways.
The generation that won’t settle for more of the same. Gen Z is here and they’re changing the game.
Born between 1997 and 2012, they’ve grown up digital, purpose-driven, and ready to challenge how work works. By the end of 2025, they’ll make up a quarter of the global workforce
And here’s the thing: standard benefits packages aren’t cutting it anymore.
If you want to attract, engage, and retain Gen Z talent, you’ll need a benefits experience that feels as personal, digital, and values led as they are. So being part of the Bristol Creative’s network let’s explore how this generation is raising the bar for benefits and what you can do to meet it.
Firstly, digital Natives Expect Digital-First Benefits! Gen Z grew up with smartphones, social feeds, and instant everything. So, when they join your workforce, they expect the same seamless experience from your benefits. A company’s tech influences whether they want to work there. They expect business tools to be as intuitive as TikTok and as mobile-friendly as their banking apps. If your benefits platform feels clunky or old-school? You’ll lose them before they’ve even logged in.
Secondly, they care deeply about purpose. For Gen Z, work isn’t just a job. It’s a platform for impact. Often, purpose at work matters more than a pay cheque. If your benefits don’t reflect your social and environmental commitments, you’re missing a massive engagement driver.
Then there’s the whole avenue called “flexibility”. Gen Z doesn’t measure success by hours logged. They care about outcomes and flexibility of schedules. In addition, there’s flexibility with regards to personalised benefits which I have mentioned numerous times. Forget biscuit-cutter packages. Gen Z expects choice: mental health support (which is non-negotiable being essential not optional), help their sustainability goals/carbon footprint, help with student loan repayments, help with community impact…all good examples.
Why? Well, it’s not rocket science – lower turnover, higher engagement and it makes you stand out in the crowd as an employer.
Gen Z is raising the bar for what great benefits look like. If you’re still offering one-size-fits-all packages, you’re missing a huge opportunity to engage the workforce of tomorrow.
If nothing else just look at
Because if your benefits aren’t easy to access, easy to understand, and easy to love, they aren’t working hard enough.
Would you like to advertise your job vacancy for free and use the Moxie and Mettle network to find your perfect candidate!? Moxie and Mettle have created a brand new way to find your next best person, with their new offer Recruitment Bootcamp. Learn new skills and find your next new recruit!
Join Recruitment Bootcamp, our online training course, which will guide you through the best way to recruit for your business, as well as saving time and money, and as a new client, you’ll be able to advertise your role through Moxie and Mettle too. All responses will come directly to you.
At Recruitment Bootcamp, you receive online access to the course that covers
And everything else you need to get a robust recruitment process in place, with unlimited support from Liz Gadd and Becs Hogdson and plenty of practical advice by email and phone.
When you sign up to Recruitment Bootcamp, you’ll be able to advertise your current or next vacancy through the huge network of Moxie and Mettle and Rustic and Rural, our recruitment agencies (no recruitment fees apply)
With a database of 50,000 people, social media groups of over 20,000 members and a collective 30,000 connections on LinkedIn, the advertising opportunity is huge and will attract the right candidates for your business.
Recruitment Bootcamp is just £780.00 and includes the advertising campaign. The fee represents a 20% discount for Bristol Creative Industries members (VAT included in the figure)
So you will get up to date information on the jobs market and candidates, and how to recruit successfully overall, but you’ll be able to advertise your role (at no extra cost) on a number of external websites and relevant groups, and through our social media.
Would love to chat it through, so let us know a good time!
Liz and Becs
Moxie and Mettle
0117 301 8223 | 07377 400413
[email protected]
www.moxieandmettle.co.uk
www.linktr.ee/lizgadd
We may feel we’re just trying to get through one day at a time, and in our teams we may have noticed people becoming less productive, reduced engagement and motivation and even more sick days and quiet quitting. Pressure can be the fuel behind your ideas and energy — until it tips too far and becomes something else: stress, fatigue, or even burnout.
Many businesses are trying to respond with wellbeing initiatives — but are they actually working?
According to recent research from Deloitte:
91% of C-suite executives believe their employees think leadership cares about their wellbeing – but only 56% of employees agree.
84% of execs say their company has made a public commitment to workforce wellbeing – but only 39% of employees feel that’s true.
That’s a disconnect. What we say we’re doing to support wellbeing isn’t always what people feel.
This article follows my Wake Up Call for Bristol Creative Industries members and is about changing that. It’s about creating wellbeing measures that aren’t just fluffy perks or tick-box exercises — but that genuinely help people feel safe, valued, and supported. I suggest practical tools to help you do just that — to manage pressure before it becomes stress, to build resilience in small, sustainable ways, and to lead with empathy, clarity, and care.
Because this isn’t just about managing stress. It’s about how we treat each other as human beings. We’re all wired differently. We’re all juggling different pressures. And more than ever, people are feeling isolated, under pressure, and disconnected from their teams.
If we want resilient people and happy workplaces, we need to build a culture where people feel connected, supported, and part of something — not just held to performance targets, but truly seen, heard, and cared for.
You might know this experience well: you’re focused, motivated, in flow — and then suddenly, you crash. That’s because pressure exists on a curve:
Not enough pressure can lead to boredom, disengagement and poor performance.
Just enough pressure (and what that means is different for everyone, we’re all different) you hit your stride and are in flow – high energy, clear focus, creativity.
But too much pressure, and we tip over to feeling stressed, overwhelmed and exhausted – ultimately this can lead to burnout..
Stress sneaks in unnoticed, it’s often when we’re busiest that we don’t see the signs. So pay attention to what your body is telling you or the signs that your team may be feeling stressed. When you pay attention to these signs you can take steps to manage it and look after yourself or your colleagues.
Stress – what’s your body telling you?
We all wear multiple hats at home and at work – parent and manager, carer and employee, managing your business and bottom line while providing the best service and quality for your clients or customers.
Here are 4 types of stress triggers:
1. Overload & Pressure
– Not enough time in the day/week
– Competing demands (home / work)
– Unrealistic expectations (from yourself or others)
– No time for rest or recovery and feeling like we’re always on.
2. Lack of Clarity or Control
– Lack of clarity around priorities or roles
– Ambiguity and Unclear or changing priorities
– Feeling powerless or lacking control
– Poor or patchy communication
3. Emotional Strain
– Carrying the emotional load for your clients, team, or family
– Supporting others but neglecting our own needs
– Guilt, perfectionism, or fear of disappointing people
– Personal stress bleeding into work
– Unresolved conflict or tensions in the workplace
4. Change & Lack of Boundaries
– Frequent or poorly-managed change
– Lack of work-life boundaries (e.g. emails at night)
– Working from home with no space to switch off and no clear end to the day
– Unspoken pressure to be “always available”
Once you notice these, you can take action — and that’s where the Four A’s come in.
Here’s a simple but powerful framework I use with clients to help them respond to stress, rather than react.
Avoid – What can you say no – or not now to?
Alter – What can you repriorite
Accept – What are the positives or benefits you can find?
Adapt – What’s another way of looking at this? How can you shift your perspective.
The Four As to Cope with Stress.
When your to-do list feels endless and everything feels urgent, it’s easy to get caught in a spiral of busyness without real progress. This is where two really simple but powerful tools come in: the Eisenhower Matrix and the Action Priority Matrix.
These frameworks help you zoom out, reduce decision fatigue, and spend your energy on what matters most — rather than just reacting to whatever’s shouting loudest.
This tool helps you decide how to deal with your tasks based on urgency and importance. It’s a 2×2 grid that helps you sort your to-do list into four clear categories:
Eisenhower Decision Making Matrix
How to use it:
Write out your full to-do list — everything that’s on your mind.
Take each item and ask: Is this urgent? Is this important? Place each task into one of the four boxes.
Focus first on what’s both urgent and important, then schedule what’s important but not urgent.
Be ruthless about what you can delegate or delete — just because it’s on your list doesn’t mean it needs your energy.
Tip: Most of your energy should be going into the “Important but Not Urgent” box — this is where your long-term success, strategy, and sanity live.
This tool helps you evaluate tasks based on effort vs. impact — a great way to stop wasting energy on things that look urgent but deliver very little return.
How to use it:
Choose a handful of tasks or ideas you’re working on.
For each, ask: How much effort will this take? What’s the potential impact?
Plot each one in the appropriate box.
Prioritise “Quick Wins” and block out time in your diary for “Major Projects”.
Limit how much time you spend on low-impact tasks — these are energy drains.
Tip: This is especially useful if you’re prone to overthinking or perfectionism. It helps you get out of your head and make practical, time-smart choices.
Resilience isn’t about being “strong” — it’s about staying responsive and resourceful, even when things feel hard. These micro-habits help:
Name it: “I feel… because…” – labelling emotions helps calm your nervous system
Set clear boundaries: Protect time for breaks, focus, and rest
Say no (or not now): Be Realistic about what you can fit in
Move: Walk, stretch, breathe – anything to reset your nervous system.
Recharge: Do something that re-energises you. For some this is exercise or just being outside, for some of us it’s just doing nothing. For extraverts it may be being around other
Write things down: your to-do list, your worries, even just a brain dump of everything on your mind. Journaling is a powerful practice, especially when things feel overwhelming or you’re stuck in a loop of overthinking. It doesn’t have to be long just write what’s circling in your head. Keep a notebook by your bed and use it to offload thoughts at night, it can really help with switching off and sleeping better.
Keep a “done” list as well as your to-do list. At the end of each day, jot down what you did get done — even the small stuff. It’s a great way to recognise progress, celebrate effort, and counter that constant feeling you haven’t got everything done.
Check in regularly: Make time and space to talk about wellbeing in a group and individually. If people find it hard to talk about emotions do it informally, for example on a walk to the coffee shop, rather than in a formal meeting. Use metaphors – a traffic light system for example where green is everything is fine and red is I need help.
Ask “How are you, really?” Leave space for people to talk and really listen, pay attention to body language. What’s their body language telling you that they may not be verbalising?
Role model healthy boundaries: Say, “It’s the end of the working day/week and I’ll have to pick this up later, normalising boundaries and that it’s ok to switch off.
Make it ok to not be OK by being open and talking about your own experiences and challenges so people know that they can be open with you. Often it’s your highest performers who will be the least likely to admit that they’re not coping, because of the feeling of shame or not wanting to let you, the client or the rest of the team down.
Celebrate the small wins, not just the big ones: What went well this week? This creates a sense of momentum and achievement.
Create clarity: Repeat the “why” behind tasks or changes
Use these questions to spark insight — write them down, discuss with a colleague, or use them in your next team check-in:
For You:
What signs tell you you’re tipping into stress?
What strengths do you have that help you cope with challenge or pressure?
Think of a time you overcame stress or challenge — what helped you through it?
What’s one sign that tells you you’re starting to feel stressed or overwhelmed?
What small boundary or habit could help you protect your wellbeing this week?
What’s one thing you’ll say ‘no’ to this week, in order to say ‘yes’ to what matters most?
For your Team:
What are the signs your team is tipping into stress?
How can you help make it safe for others to say they’re struggling?
What’s one thing you’ll do this week to support your team’s resilience?
How can you model healthy boundaries?
How can you build more connection and trust in your team culture?
If you’d like to explore how to manage pressure, lead with more ease, or put better boundaries in place, I offer one to one coaching to help you cope with stress and build resilience and design bespoke workshops and programmes for businesses and teams to put strategies in place.
If you’d like to explore coaching or bespoke workshops, I offer a free 30-minute exploratory call. You can book a time here >
Find out more about me on my website growth-space.co.uk
Or email me [email protected] or call: 07966 475195.
A couple of weeks back was Earth Day, and the 2025 theme is Our Power, Our Planet. This year, the Earth Day movement is uniting the globe around renewable energy to help us achieve ‘triple clean energy’ by 2030. Sustainability is at the heart of Bristol Creatives and as a community we should constantly strive to innovate and provide eco-friendly employee benefits.
But where do you start? Well, here’s a few pointers to embed sustainable and eco-friendly employee benefits into your business.
With CSR strategies becoming a must-have, companies are coming forward en masse to share their green credentials, giving birth to the term “Greenwashing”, where organisations talk the talk but don’t walk the walk when it comes to employee wellbeing practices. The same is true with greenwashing, but the scrutiny is even higher. If you make a claim about your environmental commitments, you must have the data to back it up. Without the data, it’s simply talk, and you’re at risk of being seen by your clients, consumers, and partners as greenwashing.
Clients and employees increasingly seek businesses that do good environmentally and socially, but they will also want to see the proof. Being branded a greenwasher will harm your reputation among employees, clients and partners, and you could find yourself in court.
So, how do you get CSR right? What are eco-friendly business practices?
There’s a long list of ways you can embed sustainability into your business through eco-friendly benefits and ways of working. Employees want to work for a business that authentically demonstrates ethical behaviours, and they’re scrutinising your corporate social responsibility policy alongside your Employee Value Proposition (EVP). Conscious quitting is a growing trend among socially conscious employees seeking equally socially conscious employers who contribute to the communities and environment in which they exist. By 2025, Millennials will make up nearly three quarters of the global workforce, and they’re looking for socially responsible employers.
Climate anxiety is real, especially among the younger generations, and these are the people who will make up the future workforce. Research tells us that young people don’t think the government is doing enough to avoid a climate crisis and expect their employers to act responsibly.
How can business’s embrace sustainable business practices through eco-friendly employee benefits. How about helping employee’s retro fit their homes…double bonus of improved financial wellbeing with energy bill savings and improvements in sustainability?
You can’t discuss eco-friendly employee benefits without stepping into the world of green car and cycle to work schemes. Both encourage greener ways of commuting to work, whether by an electric vehicle or bike and bring tax and NIC savings to employers and employees. Greener commuting and money back in your pocket! The more employees who take up a salary sacrifice scheme within your business, the more you’ll save on National Insurance Contributions. Cycling promotes physical wellbeing, and healthy people have less sickness absence = another saving to your outgoings. Your employees’ finances also benefit from a reduction in the taxable element of their payslips.
Cycling may not be feasible for those travelling long distances, but with your support, they can still make their commute greener. Offer your employees a salary sacrifice car scheme to create tax savings and make low-emission travel more affordable.
How about considering CSR Partnerships? Embedding paid volunteering opportunities into your strategy boosts morale, social value, and engagement. There are clear benefits to the business, such as being more attractive to potential partners and customers, but it isn’t without cost. Whenever you pay for a person to be out of the business, you’re funding time that’s essentially non-productive from a business output perspective.
Still, most employees think their employers should incorporate paid volunteering days as an employee benefit, claiming it allows them to learn new skills they can bring back to the business. There are employee benefit providers that allow employee to access even more volunteering opportunities within their local communities and is proving incredibly popular – a definite morale booster!
Post COVID flexibility in contracts is becoming the norm, which is excellent because they’re in demand. There are also measurable business benefits, such as a high increase in productivity. Offering flexible, hybrid, and remote contracts helps talent acquisition and retention, with two thirds of job seekers claiming they’d reject a role that didn’t offer flexibility. The more flexible you are as an employer, the more you support your employees in finding a healthy work-life balance, which will increase employee engagement levels.
From a sustainable business practices perspective, there are additional benefits to having a hybrid workforce including lower fuel and energy usage within the office and fewer employees driving to the office means lower emissions that you can chart against your climate or social value pledge.
Wellbeing matters and is THE core key feature within any employee benefits package.
Wellbeing (noun) Definition: A good or satisfactory condition of existence; a state characterised by health, happiness, and prosperity.
We know that employee happiness and wellbeing are directly linked to the benefits they receive. Employees who feel valued and happy at work are more productive and effective in their roles. Additionally, organisations that provide appropriate benefits to support employee wellbeing are more likely to foster engaged and high-performing teams.
In today’s fast-paced, competitive corporate world, prioritising employee wellbeing is no longer a perk, but a necessity.
But why does employee wellbeing matter?
Employee wellbeing goes beyond physical health, it also includes mental, emotional, and financial wellness. Employers who invest in the wellbeing of their workforce not only meet their Duty of Care obligations but also create a positive workplace culture. This results in higher retention levels and enhanced productivity.
According to latest research, 82% businesses have seen their employees demanding more wellbeing benefits, with 56% of employees saying that they would leave their job if another company offered them a better benefits package. In addition, it’s widely recognised the need for benefits packages to address unprecedented employee stress levels causing burnout, decreased engagement, and higher absenteeism, highlighting how great wellbeing and benefits are not just good for employees; they are good for business.
Tangible benefits, especially those with high (perceived) value, can significantly boost employee morale and fulfilment. There is a lot of noise now for electric vehicles supplied as an employee benefit. A brand-new car, for example, is more than just a mode of transport, it’s a symbol of appreciation, recognition and support from an employer. Car benefit schemes not only signify support and recognition to employees, elevating job satisfaction and motivation but they also host several other perks that boost workplace wellbeing and engagement levels. One benefit of the scheme to employee wellbeing is financial peace of mind. Employees don’t need to worry about car loans, credit checks or deposits. A fixed monthly reduction from their salary covers it all- insurance, tyres, VED, servicing, and even breakdown cover.
Sustainable benefits have become vital to the wellbeing of a large proportion of employees in recent years, particularly Gen Z and Millennials. Offering environmentally conscious benefits, like EV schemes, helps promote a sustainable culture that aligns with employee’s values. As an added benefit, it also supports corporate social responsibility (CSR) goals.
Business lawyer Rebecca Steer from Bristol Creative Industries member Charles Russell Speechlys recently delivered an event covering the latest employment, copyright, data and artificial intelligence (AI) legal updates that creative digital agencies need to know. Here’s a summary of the advice she shared.
Bristol Creative Industries members can book a free 30 minute legal advice session with Rebecca Steer. Slots are available on 23 May and 27 June.
A new duty on employers to proactively take reasonable steps to prevent sexual harassment has been in force since October 2024, as part of the Worker Protection (Amendment of Equality Act 2010).
Steps you should already be taking include:
The government’s major changes to employment rights are expected to take effect from 2026. Rebecca advised that you should be prepared to adjust the way you recruit, contract and manage your workforce.
The changes, which are subject to the legislation being passed, include:
To prepare for the changes, Rebecca recommended that you review certain situations, such as:
The consultation period for the Data (Use and Access) Bill ended in January 2025. If accepted, it is likely to receive Royal Assent mid-2025 with enforcement likely to be in early 2026.
The key changes are:
To prepare, Rebecca recommended the following:
A consultation on a text and data mining exemption in respect of AI development closed on 25 February 2025.
Key points:
To prepare, Rebecca advised the following:
Rebecca also covered the use of Generative AI and the risks to IP.
Risks include infringement of copyright, trademark and privacy rights when generating AI outputs. You may also inadvertedly include personal data in an input which is used to train the model or an output contains personal data which is not authorised for processing.
Other risks are hallucinations, bias, out of date information and lack of transparency.
To minimise the risks, Rebecca’s advice included:
Bristol Creative Industries members can book a free 30 minute legal advice session with business lawyer Rebecca Steer. Slots are available on 23 May and 27 June.
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