Questions Without Notice from Party Spokespeople

Part of 3. Questions to the Minister for Mental Health, Wellbeing and Welsh Language – in the Senedd at 2:45 pm on 24 February 2021.

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Photo of Baroness Mair Eluned Morgan Baroness Mair Eluned Morgan Labour 2:45, 24 February 2021

Thanks very much, David. Absolutely, that pattern of working has, I think, changed forever; I don't think we'll be going back to the patterns that we had before and certainly, as a Welsh Government, we've got a commitment now to work towards that 30 per cent of the workforce working from home. So, that's a significant shift. And you're absolutely right: just because people are working from home, it doesn't mean that they don't need support. In fact, they may need more support because they are less connected. So, we are making sure, certainly from a Welsh Government point of view, that we're offering that support. What's really heartened me, though, is that the private sector have really started to understand this now. They've understood that, actually, when it comes to their workforce, their productivity is going to decrease if people have mental health issues and that's why they are putting support in place as well. 

I was very pleased to meet up recently with a group of employers from the private sector, who are really focusing on this issue, making sure that the kind of support that they're putting in place for their workers is really listening to the requirements that people are asking for. So, I do think that we also have to be sensitive to the fact that, actually, there may be people who find it very uncomfortable to work from home. You think about some people, in particular, maybe in domestic abuse settings, it may be very, very difficult for them. So, we need to make sure that we keep these lines of communication open for people and provide that option to get back to an office, if that is the way that they want to go in future.