Student life

This week marks Men’s Health Week (MHW) which presents an important opportunity to encourage men to be more open about their mental and physical health and seek support where necessary. For 2022, the theme is 'MISSION: isPOSSIBLE' and the message to everyone is ‘The Action Starts with You’. However, there are barriers that can get in the way of keeping our body and mind healthy, especially for men. It is important to recognise what prevents men from seeking help and support when it comes to their health. To mark MHW, the Thrive Wellbeing Hub explores these barriers and shares simple but effective steps to keeping healthy both physically and mentally. Knowledge & Awareness Although men are not a homogenous group, there are similarities when it comes to awareness and knowledge of health issues compared to females. Men are prone to engage in more unhealthy habits compared to females. Females have a higher life expectancy than males, males tend to have higher rates of obesity, a greater proportion of males smoke, and there is higher participation in binge drinking and drug use. Poor lifestyles are responsible for a large proportion of chronic diseases. The four main causes of death among males in Ireland are cancer, circulatory system diseases, respiratory system diseases, and external causes of injury and poisoning. It is suggested that men tend to be less informed about the risk factors, causation and symptoms of poor health and certain diseases. This lack of knowledge and awareness may prevent men from seeking help as they are simply unaware of the symptoms surrounding certain illnesses. Therefore, it is important for us to educate ourselves on the signs and symptoms of poor health. Perception As outlined above, men tend to adopt unhealthier behaviours and are at greater risk for all leading causes of death. However, men are less likely to consult or visit a health professional compared to women and perception is a significant barrier to males engaging in health-seeking behaviours. This is where the severity of a health concern is underestimated or brushed off as nothing serious. Late presentation to health services is a cause for concern and can lead to health issues worsening or becoming untreatable. It's important to take action as soon as you notice something isn't quite right. Stigma Gender roles and the construct of masculinity have been cited as a barrier to men looking after their health, especially when it comes to mental health. These views associated with masculinity can result in men being more reluctant to speak out on mental health issues or engage in help-seeking behaviour for fear of being seen as weak or not embodying the traditional and frankly outdated attributes of what is considered masculine. This stigma allows for men’s mental health needs to often fly under the radar. This is evident in the high suicide rates of males in Ireland. Of the 390 people who died by suicide in 2019, 300 of them were male. Thankfully, this ideology is shifting, and men’s attitudes and awareness of mental health are changing. Being honest and open with yourself about how you are feeling and communicating this to loved ones or a mental health professional is so important. Proactive Steps Men and those who support them have an active role to play in encouraging and supporting men to take small steps to be proactive in both their physical and mental health. With this year, MHW message being ‘the action starts with you’, let’s challenge ourselves to take action and incorporate small changes to help improve our overall health: Eat well Exercise and spend time outdoors Reduce alcohol intake Know the signs of poor mental health, suicidal ideations, and other health conditions Schedule a medical, arrange a blood test and engage in screening services and programmes Talk and Listen – Confide in a loved one or someone impartial, ask if everything is okay, listen and help empower the men in our lives to take action If you are struggling with your mental or emotional wellbeing, Thrive can help you on your journey to better health. For wellbeing advice, contact the team by email at: thrive@charteredaccountants.ie or by phone: (+353) 86 0243294.

Students and schools around the country were recently awarded their prizes for participating in the Institute's "Be the Boss" challenge, which forms part of the Boot Camp programme. The challenge is a business simulation exercise, and it is the culmination of the Boot Camp programme, an online accounting programme for senior cycle students. Entrants take on the role of CEO of their own fictitious company: “Wild Ride”, a leading adventure sports company facing a major strategic challenge. They are tasked with applying problem solving and critical thinking skills to develop a solution to overcome the challenge. There are almost 4,500 students enrolled in Boot Camp from over 50 schools across the country. Through the programme, students get an introduction to the world of business and financial decision-making processes. They cover strategy, risk, critical thinking, decision-making and hear real life insights from senior business leaders, accountants and finance professionals through podcast interviews.  Boot Camp can be taken as an introduction to accounting in Transition Year or as revision in 5th and 6th year.  Overall winner Alex Harbison, a solo student of St Mary's Secondary School, Edenderry, Co. Offaly Shortlisted entrants Orin O’Conghaile and Rémy Léger, a team entry from Luttrellstown Community College and its Irish language partner school, Coláiste na Tulchann, Clonsilla, Dublin Aoife Higginston and Ronan O’Keeffe, a team entry from St Aidan's Community College, Cork Niamh McBride, Laura McMahon and Salomeja Skalisiute, a team entry from Our Lady's Secondary School, Castleblayney, Co. Monaghan This year saw a record number of entries from solo students, class groups and students participating in work experience with firms. Accounting is growing in popularity as a Leaving Certificate subject choice, with nearly one in seven students opting for accounting in Senior Cycle. The Boot Camp programme is designed to show students the scope of possibilities of the accounting profession.  At the Institute’s recent AGM, newly elected President of Chartered Accountants Ireland, Pat O’Neill spoke of the need to secure a strong flow of accountants into the profession to meet ongoing and projected demand, and the importance of encouraging second level students to choose accounting as a subject in senior cycle to ensure this flow. Commenting Pat O’Neill, President of Chartered Accountants Ireland said “I was delighted to see the interest this year in the “Be the Boss” challenge as part of Boot Camp. It is an innovative way to introduce young people to the breadth of the modern accountant’s role and what a career in accountancy looks like. A strong flow of accounting students from second level into the qualification is so important for ensuring that the profession continues to play a crucial role in supporting economic growth. I would like to congratulate all the entrants, shortlisted candidates and overall winner on their submissions.”  The prizes were announced at an online ceremony attended by all four shortlisted finalists and their schools. The prize winners were announced by Fiona Smiddy, a Chartered Accountant and green entrepreneur who leads Green Outlook, a company that promotes sustainable living and products.  Fiona is herself an award winner, having been named the 2022 Chartered Star who will represent the profession at the One Young World summit in Manchester in September. Boot Camp is currently open for enrolment. To find out more visit: https://chartered-bootcamp.teachable.com/  

As we celebrate Pride month, Dee France, Member & Student Support and Well-being Lead at Chartered Accountants Ireland, explores what diversity and inclusion means in the workplace, the important role it plays for employee well-being, and why employers should foster a culture of belonging and inclusion. Diversity and inclusion (D&I) has become a driving force in the changing organisational landscape. Companies and business leaders are placing greater emphasis on their approach to D&I and are embracing policies and strategies to create a more diverse, fairer, and resilient workforce.  Employee well-being and D&I are closely connected. In fact, employee well-being awareness can be seen as an intrinsic element of a company’s effective D&I strategies and policies.  An essential and significant feature of good overall well-being is our feeling of purpose and belonging. Programmes and initiatives that promote inclusion, diversity, and belonging can support and cultivate positive employee well-being. In its entirety, D&I in the workplace can have an impact on our overall happiness at work.  Emotional tax Employees from diverse backgrounds who experience a non-inclusive workforce can face an additional burden of an ‘emotional tax’ – the experience of being treated differently from peers due to race/ethnicity or gender, triggering adverse effects on health and feelings of isolation and making it difficult to thrive at work. This emotional tax can have an extremely negative impact on employees’ mental health and wellbeing. Feeling undervalued, overlooked, or excluded due to your identity can heighten a person’s vigilance to protect themselves from acts of bias or prejudice. Thrive, Chartered Accountants Ireland’s dedicated well-being hub, continues to receive regular calls from our members and students who seek support from the damaging impact a non-inclusive workplace can have on their wellbeing.   Managing diversity and inclusion  Implementing effective and successful D&I strategies and policies can take time, but a coherent and structured approach to these ensure that work practices and values support an inclusive culture that embraces different people, views, and perspectives. Producing a D&I policy allows a company to go above and beyond legal obligations and set a standard of expectation for the organisation and for its employees.  There are several ways companies can begin to incorporate inclusivity into the workplace.  Leadership and employee training  Providing training for leadership, management and employees increases awareness, aids the understanding and engagement in the company’s values and policies, helps embed these initiatives into the culture of the workplace, and allows for the development of empathy for others.  Employee network groups  Building an employee network group is an effective way to allow people to connect with others from different groups, and raise a sense of belonging, affinity, and kinship.  For example, the Institute has several different committee groups such as Balance, our LGBTQ+ committee, Student Committee, and D&I committee.  Open communication and feedback  Developing open and clear communication channels that are easily accessible to employees breeds better dialogue. It ensures employees and managers alike feel safe in airing grievances, giving feedback, and the feeling of being heard and valued.  Employee surveys on D&I initiatives allow companies to take onboard employees’ experiences and action feedback. It permits companies to assess if policies and strategies are working and evaluate and benchmark their efforts from year-to-year.  The Thrive Wellbeing Hub provides counselling, wellness coaching, practical advice and more to all members of the Institute. You can contact the Thrive wellbeing team by visiting our website, via email at: thrive@charteredaccountants.ie, or by phone: +(353) 86 0243294. 

A life that is full of happiness, vibrancy, and vitality is something we all hope for and strive to achieve. But what does a life of vitality actually entail? Vitality is defined as the state of being strong and active, being full of life and energy. It is the exuberance of physical, mental, and emotional strength. It is about the feeling of aliveness- living life to the fullest and finding zest in every situation. Ahead of Thrive’s upcoming wellness webinar, Living with Vitality: The Science of Self-Care, the wellbeing team shares its tips for living a life full of vitality. Our vitality for life is of critical importance and is something that correlates with good wellbeing and is a contributor to our overall happiness and wellness. Increased vitality can help boost our productivity, help build better coping skills and enhance our ability to manage and navigate our emotions. Self-care for improved vitality Self-care may seem like a trendy term these days, but when you invest in and make time for yourself, it can translate into feeling better about yourself. Self-care is often misunderstood but it essentially means checking in with yourself physically, mentally, emotionally, and spiritually. Self-care looks different to everyone. It is important to focus and identify what activities are fulfilling to you and make you feel good. It can also help ignite a spark and passion to take care of other aspects of our lives. This time for reflection and self-care can increase your propensity for a life of vitality. The need for self-compassion Self-compassion is an essential part of a lifestyle of vitality. In its most basic sense, self-compassion is being nice to yourself. The core elements of self-compassion are kindness, common humanity, and mindfulness. Self-compassionate individuals tend to care for and nurture themselves and others – making their world a better place to live. By taming your own inner critic, you can improve your relationships, wellbeing and lust for life. Being kind and compassionate can increase resilience and exuberance and strengthen the connection with yourself and others which greatly benefits us mentally, physically, and spiritually.  Mind & body nourishment Lifestyle factors such as physical activity, healthy and balanced nutrition, and good quality sleep are valuable components to good overall wellbeing but can also help us build the energy reserves needed to live with vitality. Contrary to belief, exercise actually increases our energy levels. Nurturing our bodies with the nutrients and vitamins it needs, getting proper rest and relaxation and moving our bodies allows us to experience a healthier, more positive life and allows us to perform to our best ability. Finding the positive A positive outlook or mindset is key to living with vitality. Having an optimistic outlook on life enables you to see yourself and the world from a positive, uplifting, and encouraging viewpoint. Appreciating the small moments, the beauty in life, and positive thinking are powerful ways to reduce stress and improve your wellbeing. However, it can be a struggle to maintain optimism in our day-to-day. Mediating, practicing gratitude, being present, immersing yourself in nature, and spending meaningful time with loved ones are some techniques that can help instill and engrain positivity into our lives. This in turn helps us improve our overall vitality and zest for life. Vitality is all about creating more energy and positivity in our lives. When we are energised and positive, our health improves, we feel happier and therefore lead a life that is thriving and full of vitality. Living with Vitality: The Science of Self-Care To learn more about leading a life with vitality, join the Thrive Wellbeing Hub on Wednesday 8 June at 12 pm for its upcoming wellness webinar, Living with Vitality: The Science of Self-Care, with physician and lifestyle medicine expert, Dr. Mark Rowe.  In this one-hour webinar, we explore the science of self-care, the need for self-compassion, and their role as key strategies for living a life of vitality and for burnout prevention. Dr. Mark Rowe has been a family physician for more than 25 years and is a thought leader in the areas of Lifestyle Medicine and Corporate Wellbeing. He frequently delivers events and workshops for organisations around the world. The three-time author regularly contributes to several publications where he shares his thoughts on positive health and wellbeing practices. In his most recently published book ‘The Vitality Mark’, Dr. Rowe shares practices that are proven to improve health and increase longevity. His self-development programme, VitalityMark™, supports subscribers to live with Vitality by becoming an active participant in their own wellbeing. Vitality Mark is a comprehensive self-assessment questionnaire giving an overall vitality score as well as highlighting relative strengths in separate aspects of your vitality – emotion, physical, mind, spirit and connections. If you would like to hear more from Dr. Rowe, you can follow his work via his newsletter. We hope you can join us for what promises to be an informative and uplifting event. Book your free place here: https://bit.ly/3LCw2wY

During exam season, it can be a struggle to build and maintain momentum in the final weeks of preparation for the big exams. Stress levels can be at an all-time high and while some stress can help keep you motivated and focused, too much can be unhelpful. Here we look at tactics and strategies to help you focus your efforts and build study resilience in the weeks ahead. The Art of Distraction With a mammoth task like exam preparation, it can be easy to fall into the trap of procrastination – we’ve all been there!  However, the more you procrastinate the worse you feel and the greater your anxiety might become. The psychology profession outlines two types of procrastination – active and passive. Active procrastinators deliberately decide to procrastinate as they believe they work better under pressure. Whereas passive procrastination is seen as the more negative of the two where people are paralysed by indecision or lack of confidence, loading them with anxiety causing even further stress and inaction. Passive procrastination is usually a sign of something bigger – performance anxiety, fear of failure or simply to avoid negative feelings.  At its core, procrastination is about emotions, not productivity. Therefore, it is important to identify the reason why you are procrastinating and try to address it. There are ways to beat the procrastination bug if it’s really impacting your focus, here is where your study schedule and a reward system will come in handy. Blocking out chunks of time for study will help you concentrate on the task in hand. Don’t bite of more than you can chew either though, quick burst of 30-40 minutes study might work best for you to help keep your focus.  Reward yourself after completing a task whether that’s a quick cup of tea and a treat, a scroll through your social media or half an hour of your favourite show. Tap into and regulate your emotions with mindfulness techniques, mediation or breathing exercises to better manage your feelings around studying and exams. Time Management Time management is key to exam success and helps you gain control. Use a day planner or a weekly schedule to help you determine your available time. Managing and mapping out your day can bring structure to your study without it feeling too overwhelming. However, be realistic with your schedule and don’t overload your day. For maximum efficiency, determine and prioritise the subjects you find most difficult and focus on them first. Certain subjects may also warrant more study time than others. Get to know your body clock, there may be times throughout the day or week where you feel more alert or sluggish than usual and use these times to your advantage. Track your progress and by the end of the week you will feel a sense of accomplishment with all the work you have done over the past few days, and it will help shape your schedule for the next week. Most importantly, schedule time for relaxing activities and exercise too - your body and mind will thank you for it! Studies have shown that exercise improves cognitive performance so consider it as part of the exam preparation. Meet up or chat with friends and family to help you reset and have time away from work and study for some fun. Think of the Bigger Picture! When caught up in the stress of study and exams, it can be hard to motivate yourself and gain perspective on why you are actually doing it. Studying to be a chartered accountant is challenging – the personal sacrifices you have made, the unattended social gatherings, the copious amounts of exams and years you have already put in etc. But if you look to your goals and the end game you can find the motivation to carry on. Think of why you decided to become an accountant in the first place, the career goals you want to achieve and where you want to be in a few years’ time. These exams are leading up to something bigger and are a means to achieving your goal. By keeping this in mind, it can help you attain the self-discipline and encouragement you might need when you feel your efforts and motivation begin to wane. Wishing you all the best for the weeks ahead. Happy Studying! If you need more advice on preparing for your exams, Thrive has a dedicated student hub to help you navigate student life. Alternatively, you can contact the CA Support wellbeing team in confidence on mobile: (353) 86 024 3294 or by email: thrive@charteredaccountants.ie.

The pandemic has transformed how we work and with many returning to the office, working hybrid or remotely, it will continue to evolve. No matter where employees are situated, how small or large a firm it is, it’s important to foster a culture of good wellbeing to positively influence both employees and the company. Corporate wellbeing programmes are becoming more and more popular. Once seen as an added perk for employees, they are now an integral part of the business agenda. But what is workplace wellbeing?  Generally speaking, it means promoting staff wellbeing at work and empowering staff with the knowledge and tools to be proactive in boosting and protecting their own wellbeing. Fostering a culture of good wellbeing can help prevent work induced stress and create a positive and healthy work environment where employees and the company can thrive. On average, we spend a third of our adult life at work.  That is a significant amount of time and how we feel about work has a big impact on our day, life, home, and on our general happiness. A VHI study conducted in 2018 reported one in five employees missed work in the previous year due to stress, anxiety or depression while mental health related illnesses are one of the most common reasons for long-term absence. Employee stress and ill mental health can directly impact levels of absenteeism, presenteeism and reduced performance - all at a high cost for employers. As a result, implementing wellbeing initiatives and strategies should be seen as a key business driver. Businesses have a duty of care to employees both physically and psychologically and employers hold a responsibility for the wellbeing of their staff. However, there is a wealth of evidence that points to a positive correlation between workplace wellbeing and improved business KPI’s. Fostering a culture of good wellbeing not only produces a happier workforce, the benefits to the company are just as happy: Improvement in staff productivity and engagement Can help with staff retention Increase in employee morale Reduction in absenteeism Stronger employer brand and reputation A resilient workforce In recent times, our collective interest in health and wellbeing has expanded and two years on from the beginning of the pandemic, the role and value of workplace wellbeing is recognised more than ever. This new era in our working lives has proven how fundamental employee wellbeing is to company resilience and creating a healthy workplace is something employers are becoming much more aware of. National Workplace Wellbeing Day is a great starting point and opportunity for organisations looking to promote the wellbeing of employees.   Evidence suggests there is a holistic and cyclical effect of promoting wellbeing in the workplace both for employers and employees. Therefore, companies should take the steps to support employees and demonstrate their commitment to promoting positive mental health. Like most workplace initiatives in order for it to be successful, leadership buy-in is essential. This obstacle has been cited as one of the biggest barriers to implementing workplace wellbeing strategies. By linking employee wellbeing with success metrics, increased business performance and clearly demonstrating how it will positively impact all aspects of the business is a sure way to ensure clear, consistent and visible support from the top down.   There is a plethora of ways how a culture of workplace wellbeing can be embedded into an organisation through internal policies and offerings.  The most popular strategy is an employee assistance programme, however there is a wealth of additional supports employers can put in place to promote workplace wellbeing. For example, some organisations run employee wellbeing events such as mindfulness or exercise classes, a no meetings Fridays’ policy, provide mental health training for managers to identify signs of mental stress, offer flexible working arrangements, promote a culture that fosters a healthy work-life balance, and raise awareness of mental health challenges within the workplace. If you would like more advice or assistance on wellbeing whether an employee or an employer, the Thrive Wellbeing Hub provides counselling, wellbeing coaching, information, advice and lots more to all members of the Institute.  You can contact the Thrive wellbeing team by email at: thrive@charteredaccountants.ie or by phone: (+353) 86 0243294.