SM Forum: Health & Wellbeing at Work

Kicking off our programme of ‘signature events‘ for 2026, we are excited to invite you to an empowering event dedicated to health and wellbeing at work. All of our expert speaker sessions are intended to provide insights that will help you navigate the challenges of modern work life and improve your overall wellbeing. Our goal is to equip you with the knowledge and ideas to foster a healthier, more supportive work environment for yourself and your colleagues as we enter 2026!

AGENDA

Navigating the human side of redundancy – Sue Carey, My Brighter Life Coaching

In fast-moving IT service environments, change is constant, with most attention placed on systems, processes, and outcomes. But when redundancy happens, the impact can hit hard on a human level, affecting the people behind the processes. Whether you’ve been directly affected or are adapting to new ways of working, it’s normal to experience a mix of emotions.

During this session, we will explore how redundancy impacts us on a personal level, and discover simple, practical tools to help you stay grounded, manage uncertainty, and maintain focus.

You’ll leave with greater awareness of your own emotional responses, strategies to build personal resilience, and confidence to support colleagues as everyone adjusts to “the new normal.”

Sue is an experienced transformation and wellbeing coach who helps individuals uncover the best version of themselves, and organisations to implement engaging and impactful wellbeing programmes in the workplace. Sue spent much of her 25 years of global corporate experience as a senior learning and development professional working within IT, ensuring staff had the skills and capability to deliver exceptional service and support to the organisation.

Beyond fruit bowls: the business case for employee wellbeing – Hannah Holden, The Transformation of Neuroscience Consulting

Employee wellbeing is often seen as “nice to have” – until you understand the neuroscience.

When people are chronically stressed, the brain’s prefrontal cortex goes offline. That’s the part responsible for creativity, strategic thinking, problem-solving, and innovation. Your stressed employees literally can’t perform at their best, no matter how talented they are.

This session makes the business case: stress isn’t an HR problem, it’s a strategic risk. Hannah Holden, former Head of Business Consulting turned stress neuroscientist, reveals the ROI of nervous system health and practical actions leaders can take to protect performance.

For leaders who need to demonstrate why this matters to business outcomes.

Hannah has over 20 years of experience delivering IT projects, programmes and consulting, and is the former Head of Business Consulting at Devoteam UK. Through her career, she witnessed the same pastern repeatedly: smart people couldn’t see the big picture, collaborative teams became siloed, and transformations stalled. After experiencing burnout herself, Hannah went deep into nervous system science to understand why. She discovered that 70% transformation failure rate isn’t about tech strategy – it’s biology. When the amygdala detects change as threat, it switches off the prefrontal cortex, sabotaging the exact capabilities teams need for transformation success. Hannah founded Transformation Neuroscience Consulting to bridge IT transformation expertise with stress neuroscience, teaching organisations how to regulate nervous systems for successful change adoption. Previous clients include CapGemini, Royal Holloway University, University of Birmingham and Axiologik.

Tackling polar bears: how to manage stress and anxiety for better mental resilience – Helen Tovey, Wellbeing In Mind Hypnotherapy

Stress and anxiety are natural responses driven by the brain’s threat-detection system, particularly the amygdala, which triggers the release of adrenaline and cortisol to prepare us for action. When this system becomes overactive, it can keep the body in a heightened state, affecting mood, sleep and decision-making.

Modern living offers plenty of opportunities for our stress response to kick into gear. In this session, we will look at what happens in the brain and body when we perceive a threat, and how we can calm that response and regain control. You will leave with some simple, practical steps to build resilience for improved mental wellbeing both in and out of the workplace.

Helen is a clinically qualified Solution Focused Hypnotherapist and Neuro Linguistic Programming (NLP) Master Practitioner. Using practical and evidence-based approaches to positive change, she helps individuals reduce stress and move forwards with confidence. Prior to becoming a hypnotherapist, Helen worked for over 30 years in IT for a large global automotive manufacturer.

The Four Pillars of human performance wellbeing – Jay Mannion, Soul & Performance Coach

In a world where wellbeing often feels like an afterthought, the Four Pillars approach reframes wellbeing as a strategic foundation for resilience, clarity, connection, and performance. Jay will guide participants through a practical framework that integrates body, mind, identity, and purpose — helping individuals and teams move beyond coping and into sustainable wellbeing and performance. Attendees will leave with tools they can apply immediately to improve focus, emotional regulation, stress resilience, and long-term motivation at work and in life.

Key takeaways include:
• How to build physiological resilience for greater energy and focus
• Techniques to reframe stress into clarity and actionable focus
• Tools to strengthen self-leadership and emotional stability
• Ways to reconnect with meaning and purpose in everyday work.

Jay Mannion is a Soul & Performance Coach specialising in resilience, self-leadership, and wellbeing. He supports individuals and teams using his Four Pillars framework, integrating physiology, mindset, and purpose to enhance performance and clarity at work.

PeopleCert ITIL CPD Points

itSMF UK members will automatically earn 4 ‘Professional Education’ ITIL CPD points for attending this event – more details available here.

Delivery Platform

This online event will be delivered using the Zoom platform.

How much does it cost?

Places are available to itSMF UK members and non-members for FREE.

REGISTER NOW!