In a candid article for SHP, Abbi Taylor reflects on wellbeing, working with her Dad, and the importance of inspirational speakers.
You might know my dad, Jason Anker. He gives talks on the dangers of working at height following a life-changing accident.
When Dad started speaking in 2009, his story was hard hitting; a raw account of an accident that was totally avoidable. He would describe in detail about the challenges of daily life, pulling no punches when it came to his paralysis, incontinence and issues around sex.
Since his accident I had always had a feeling of resentment towards Dad, particularly around things I had missed out on as a child, all because of a risk he had taken at work. However, I learnt that the year before his accident, he had really been suffering with his mental health, brought on by anxiety around job security; working away from home; doing jobs he hated; relationship problems with my mum, all of which contributed to his excessive drinking and the subsequent accident.
The importance of wellbeing
When I heard him speak for the first time, I remember thinking how little I knew about the effect his accident had had on him personally, but it wasn’t until 2018, nearly ten years from when began sharing his story, and he started talking about the mental health issues he was having at the time of the accident, it became clear that these issues had influenced his poor safety choices that day. It was a realisation for both me and my Dad that would change the approach of his safety message, one that was now centred around wellbeing.
Perhaps all of these emotions and issues that my Dad had experienced at the time of his accident, resonated with how people were feeling during the pandemic: anxious, scared, uncertain.
We were both determined to share this new part of the story, some of our clients at the time were less enthusiastic and told us to keep to the safety topic. Dad stuck to what he believed in, and as the country came out from the pandemic, with society perhaps more aware of its mental health, his message seemed to open people’s minds to how important wellbeing at work is.
If you want to improve overall workplace culture then its essential to join the dots of health, safety and wellbeing, something which my Dad now speaks about when he goes to visit an array of different workforces across all different industries.
Sharing the message
When I joined the business, if I’m honest, I didn’t really understand what my Dad did, but then after watching one of his talks it all clicked. From that point I immersed myself in the work, ultimately wanting to help share his message.
The business, as it is today, really started to grow when we began to add other individuals who wanted to share their experiences of workplace accidents. This stable of speakers has steadily grown over the years and I am humbled that these inspirational voices have decided to join us and share their stories, stories that can help inspire others to make better choices in their work and personal lives.
We are not an agency. but more a ‘one stop shop’ where we can guide and advise them on the best speaker for their event. As such, Proud2bSpeakers, was formed to bring this new element to our offering as Proud2bSafe.
Ultimate goal
P2BS can now offer a wide range of services, from singular presentations/keynotes, to workshops, half day or full day events even taking care of venue selecting. We can tailor a speaker to topic such as leadership, safety culture and even team building. We help clients with all different budgets and ideas and always like to build something that has the most impact and potential to make a difference.
Our ultimate goal is to create a culture in the workplace that takes wellbeing, health and safety beyond compliance, not just to aiming to send people home in the same way they arrived, but to send them home better people.
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