A new network has been established at the University to provide peer support to older colleagues and students.

Run by colleagues in the Institute of Health and Wellbeing and hosted on MS Teams, the Wellbeing of Older Workers group aims to provide a safe place for sharing concerns, challenges, achievements, aspirations, and any thoughts or stories. As well as this mutual peer support, regular posts will be made sharing information and upcoming events of interest.

The definition of an "older worker or student" in this case anyone over the age of 50, or anyone who considers themselves to be an older worker or student. 

One of the protected characteristics listed in the Equality Act 2010 is age. The proportion of older workers (aged 50+) has been increasing in recent years, currently around a third of the UK workforce are older workers with this proportion set to increase further as the pension age increases. The challenges and benefits of being an older worker are becoming more widely understood and acknowledged, and the voice of the older worker is becoming stronger as stigma and barriers are broken.

There is a separate Athena Swan group for older workers in the IHW (Wellbeing for Older Workers WOW), you can read more about the work of the this group , including an online toolkit with resources on their webpages.

A small group of volunteers will oversee this Team but we hope it will be essentially peer-led and develop organically as members decide what they need and want from it. (NB This peer support group is NOT related to the Athena Swan initiative.)

If this is something that interests you please join us! All we ask is please be kind when responding to others, and respect privacy and confidentiality if a member chooses to share something of a sensitive nature.

First published: 6 May 2022

<< 9 May 2022