How do astronauts like Tim Peake develop mental resilience to cope with the many dangers and pressures of his work?

This is one of the questions answered at a special one-off event called Resilience and Burnout taking place at the Swindon Marriott on Monday, June 27.

The Swindon Mindful Employer Network has brought together two top experts for the first time to help local businesses understand the value of mental resilience and how to reduce burnout amongst their workforces.

Adrian Embling of Mindset Wessex is a popular speaker and trainer on mental health issues and he returns to the Swindon Mindful Employer Network with an updated version of his resilience training – with an additional session on avoiding burnout.

Adrian says : “Our drives and motivations change during our lives. Do career paths for 'high fliers' coincide with our changing motivations? At what stage does a 55 year old executive acknowledge the misalignment - that long hours, travel and pressure no longer 'fit' with their evolving life plan - a desire for more holidays, more family time, 'peace and quiet'?

"We acknowledge that resilience helps us through times of pressure and can make us happier but is there a threat that 'blind' resilience, forging on no matter what, could blind us to our true motivations and desires? With our established 'rules for living' driving us to meet expectations and guilting us into believing we should be strong, confident and capable, are we truly being resilient ?. I believe we should be aligning resilience with mindfulness - let's call it mindful resilience, as opposed to mindless resilience.”

Joining Adrian as a special guest will be Susan Buckle who is Astronaut Education Program Support Manager at the UK Space Agency.

Susan says : “After university, I began teaching but then transitioned from life as a Psychology Lecturer to working for the European Space Agency in 2011, training Astronauts, the Ground Control Team, and Hivernauts who spend a year in Antarctica. I had many amazing experiences at ESA, including training on the Space Station’s Robotic Arm and taking a Parabolic ‘Zero G’ flight with Tim Peake. I decided I wanted to work more closely on Tim’s Principia mission, so moved back to the UK last summer to begin my current job.

Now I am responsible for supporting the Education and Skills team in the planning and delivery of a program of nearly 40 education and outreach activities associated with Tim Peake’s mission on the ISS (International Space Station).”

Susan said: “Mental resilience is a key factor in a successful outcome of a challenging career. Astronauts, like many other people, face enormous challenges every single day of their working lives. But understanding how they think and react to these challenges can provide an insight into how to reach beyond just coping to achieving at an altogether higher level. I am delighted to join Adrian and the Swindon Mindful Employer Network at the Swindon Marriott and look forward to meeting many local employers.”

The UK Space Agency is based in Swindon where it employs around 80 people at North Star.

Susan and Adrian will be joined by Melanie Richens, the Chair of the Swindon Mindful Employer Network and a tutor at the UK College of Personal Development.

Adam Flint, General Manager at the Swindon Marriott, said: “We look forward to welcoming back the Swindon Mindful Employer Network to the Swindon Marriott. Like many employers, developing our employees’ mental resilience is very important to us and we want to support this really interesting event which will highlight the issue and showcase good practice.”

David Latham who manages the network said: “Great to be back at the Swindon Marriott and very excited by this particular session which highlights resilience and avoiding the dangers of burnout. We are grateful to Adam Flint at the Swindon Marriott, Adrian Embling of Mindset Wessex and Susan Buckle of the UK Space Agency for making this happen.”

Places for this event are available for representatives of Swindon Employers only. Booking is essential.

For more information about this event please contact: smen@swindonmind.org