We know that having good work that is meaningful, purposeful and secure can help improve mental health. Findings suggest that creative hobbies can also make life feel even more worthwhile.
Leeds Mindful Employer Network Project Coordinator, Leigh Staunton, recently caught up with Fran Coard from the Leeds Arts Health and Wellbeing Network (LAWHN).
Leigh and Fran talked about the role arts and creativity play in wellbeing and why employers should consider including creative activities as part of their employee wellbeing offer.
The Leeds Mindful Employer Network and LAHWN have also collated a directory of local providers of creative workshops which you can book for your team.
Fran, please tell us a bit about you and the Leeds Arts Health and Wellbeing Network.
Hi! I’m Fran, and I am a Creative Development Manager at Leeds Arts Health and Wellbeing Network (LAHWN).
The network aims to connect, support and champion people working across different sectors: arts/culture, health/social care and academia, to strengthen partnerships and raise the profile of the role that arts, culture and creativity can play in supporting health and wellbeing.
Prior to my role at LAHWN, I worked for a mental health charity for over sixteen years. Throughout my career I have seen what a positive impact engaging with arts, culture and creativity has to people’s mental health and wellbeing. As a result, I am really passionate about how we can raise awareness of this and facilitate more opportunities for people to access the arts and creative activity in Leeds.
LAHWN launched in 2019 to enable different sectors to work together to support all people in Leeds to enjoy fulfilling lives. Please tell our members a bit about LAHWN’s vision, principles and themes.
LAWHNs vision is that arts and creativity support Leeds to be a healthy city, where people who are the poorest improve their health the fastest – we believe that access to the arts, culture and creativity is an essential part of supporting people with their mental health and wellbeing.
We have three themes at LAHWN – mental health and wellbeing, creative ageing and workforce wellbeing. All these seem relevant to the aims of Mindful Employer which is why we have reached out to your network to see how we can raise awareness of the power of arts and creativity!
What does research tell us about the role of art and improving mental and physical wellbeing?
There is a huge amount of research which suggests that access to and participating in arts, culture and creative activity has great benefit to people’s mental health and wellbeing. This was well-documented through covid lockdowns, where large numbers of people took to creative activity to support them through long periods of isolation and uncertainty. Recent research shows that people who regularly participate in arts and crafts activities feel life is more worthwhile.
The World Health Organisation published a review in 2019 detailing evidence of the role of arts in improving health and wellbeing which stated: “There is also a growing literature on the preventive benefits of arts engagement in relation to mental health. Activities such as making and listening to music, dancing, art and visiting cultural sites are all associated with stress management and prevention, including lower levels of biological stress in daily life and lower daily anxiety.”
Creative health approaches are also being adopted to support people with their physical health. There is growing evidence to suggest that singing can improve lung function in people with conditions like COPD and dancing can increase aerobic capacity improve cardiovascular health.
Why should employers consider creative activities as part of their wellbeing offer for employees?
I attended the Mindful Employer conference this year and was really interested to hear from a range of organisations about the innovative ways they are supporting their employees to maintain good mental health.
Arts and creativity are another tool in the wider workforce wellbeing toolkit and offer a holistic approach: offering employees the opportunity to slow down, connect with each other, express themselves in a different way and use their inherent creativity.
If we think about the skills we use and develop when we are being creative there are many benefits for mental health: innovating, problem solving, trying something new, coming up with different solutions, adaptability. Practicing these and using them regularly can help us maintain positive mental health.
There are lots of different ways employers can support this in the workplace: creative activities are great for team building or away days and creative methods like photovoice and ideas trees can be another way of getting feedback from employees about their workplace experiences. Employers might also want to consider how they support employees to access public culture and heritage spaces such as museums, galleries and libraries as these can enhance wellbeing.
What would you say to someone who thinks they can’t get involved in arts-based activities because they ‘aren’t very good’ or ‘haven’t tried it’?
At LAHWN we believe that everyone has the capacity to be creative. Humans have an inherent drive to
sing, dance and create!
Few of us will ever become famous artists but there is a lot to be gained from giving it a go. Focussing more on enjoying the process and learning something new more than the end product or whether something is good or not is really key. If we think about the 5 ways to wellbeing – connect, be active, take notice, keep learning and give – participating in arts and creativity gives us lots of opportunities to develop these areas of ourselves.
There is a huge range of creative activities, it doesn’t have to mean making art. Some people find cooking, gardening or crafting relaxing. For other people it might be singing in a choir or learning to play the ukelele. There is also a lot of benefit to going to see art, be it in galleries, the theatre or a comedy event. It’s about trying something new and finding what works for individuals.
The MindWell website has some helpful links to creative groups, activities and organisations in Leeds Find creative activity groups in Leeds – MindWell (mindwell-leeds.org.uk)
Local providers of corporate creative workshops
The LAHWN and the Leeds Mindful Employer Network have come together to collate a directory of local providers of creative workshops which you could offer employees as part of your wellbeing offer.
If you know of any other providers and workshops we should add to the directory, please get in touch at mindfulemployer@leedsmind.org.uk
Further reading and referenced links:
Arts and crafts seem to boost well-being more than employment | New Scientist
National Centre for Creative Health (ncch.org.uk)
Thanks so much to Fran for contributing to this blog. You can follow Fran on LinkedIn.
Read more about LAWHN’s work in Workforce Wellbeing and Development.
