Supporting our wellbeing and communities in 2023

2023 has been another stand out year for our employee groups. 

From raising an incredible amount for charity to getting us all talking about mental health, they ensure our people and our communities are supported all year long.  

Our Employee Resource Groups include Balance (Wellbeing), Giving (Charity), Green Scene (Sustainability), Pride, STEM and Women in Tech – and in December 2023 they were joined by a new group, Able, focusing on disability and carers. We launched our new Mental Health Champions at the start of the year, while our Choir and Golf Society continued to run events.  

A key theme for 2023 has been collaboration, with groups coming together to run engaging activities focusing on our wellbeing, giving back and more.  

Looking after our wellbeing  

We marked both Mental Health Awareness Week in May and World Mental Health Day in October with a range of events, including a mental health ‘mingle’, lunchtime yoga, a ‘choir in an hour’ and a silent disco. The mingle event allowed participants to talk in a safe space about how they look after their own mental health, while we recognised the benefits of singing by coming together to learn and perform a song in just an hour.  

We were incredibly excited to welcome Colonel Dame Kelly Holmes to a virtual fireside chat, hosted by Pride @ LIT and Women in Tech. She shared openly about her life and career, inspiring us all to get more motivated and set goals for our own wellbeing.  

Our Mental Health Champions shared their first three podcasts, building on the mental wellbeing message they shared when they launched and focusing on key subjects including suicide prevention and seasonal affective disorder. In November we held our ‘Wellbeing over the Holidays’ event, bringing all our employee groups together to share experiences and tips for the upcoming holiday season.  

We may not be quite up to Kelly’s standards, but in 2023 we covered over 47 million steps in our annual ‘LIT Gets Moving’ activity challenge and joined team mates around the world for the ‘Liberty in Motion’ global challenge.  

I've really enjoyed my first year as a Mental Health Champion, helping to share the importance of wellbeing and supporting each other.

The collaboration, support and openness has been overwhelming, and instrumental in ensuring a safe space for everyone. I've been able to learn so much from how others take care of their own mental health and incorporate some of this in my own daily routine.

Aidan, Principal Software Engineer

Giving back  

Our support for local charities continued all year, with an incredible fundraising total of over £33,000 for our partner charities PIPS and Pieta, and some other amazing causes.  

Some employees took part in the annual Darkness into Light walk at locations close to them while others joined in running, cycling and football events to raise money. In October, a hardy team of night owls took part in ‘Boycott Your Bed’, sleeping out overnight to raise over £4,300 for Action for Children. 

Our Serve with Liberty volunteering days were taken up by over 140 of us this year – planting trees, caring for animals, making packs for families and lots more.  

We marked ‘Second hand September’ when our Green Scene and Giving groups collaborated to run our first ever ‘Swap shop’ event, diverting over 200 items from landfill while adding to our fundraising total. As the year drew to a close, our Giving and Choir members joined forces to sing festive songs at Victoria Square in Belfast for the Simon Community.  

I've loved being able to take part in just some of the fundraising we've done for charities this year. Spending a couple of hours singing for the Simon Community the week before Christmas was a great opportunity to have fun while supporting others.

Jenny, Consultant

Building connections 

Our Women in Tech group held three mingle events, beginning on International Women’s Day, where attendees shared experiences and knowledge on key topics including fear of failure and career journeys to senior technical roles.  

The summer months saw our Pride @ LIT group plus friends and family go along to the Pride parades in Dublin, Belfast and Galway, with our biggest attendance ever!  

Continuing to influence the tech talent of the future, our STEM group ran three work experience programmes and attended eight career fairs, culminating in our Hybrid Work Experience in November. 

Our Social Clubs in all three locations ran monthly events, with something for everyone including sports, activities, music and food events. These events always provide a great opportunity to make new friends and reconnect with folk we’ve not seen for a while. After a hiatus for a couple of years, our annual weekend away was back at the end of September, with a trip to beautiful Lough Erne. 

What’s next? 

Kicking off 2024 we’ll see another LIT Gets Moving challenge, revamped LGBTQ+ ally training, new wellbeing and fundraising events, and lots more.  

The dedication and collaboration of our employee groups have made 2023 a remarkable year. We look forward to seeing the future impact of these groups, as they continue to support our employees and communities in meaningful ways.