Creating an open culture in the face of British politeness

Hannah was following the traditional HR path, moving from one cold, corporate environment to another. But her sense of wellbeing was crumbling. When she spent a two-hour lunch break crying on the phone to the Samaritans, she knew it was time for a career break—and found herself working in a tech start-up. She never looked back.

For a while, her own misconceptions of success were a burden—especially when carrying the self-imposed weight of feminism on her shoulders. But time and therapy have taught her that anxiety isn’t something to be ignored or overcome. It could even be her greatest strength.

You’ll hear how Hannah manages the challenge of supporting remote teammates, the benefits of personality questionnaires, and why it’s okay to ask for praise from your boss.

Hannah Gibson, People Operations Lead at Flatfair, shares how a career change revived her from burnout, how therapy has helped look after others as well as herself, and why anxiety could even be her greatest strength.

Oliva is the UK & Europe's #1 rated employee mental wellbeing benefit.

We help companies respond to the pivotal moments that impact mental wellbeing at work and beyond—driving employee retention and exceptional effort.

We do this by:

• Empowering individuals to take control of their mental wellbeing
• Developing manager emotional intelligence
• Helping HR teams create org-wide psychological safety