Lets talk about mental health in the workplace…
An often taboo conversation in most areas let alone the office, many people still don’t feel comfortable to talk about it openly. There is hope however, social media campaigns and mental health organisations have helped raise awareness over the years and businesses are slowly coming to the understanding of the scale of the mental health issues that are present in the workplace but there’s a long way to go. I know from my own personal experiences and that of friends that any conversations on mental health or support in the workplace is often rare or non-existent. If employers are to get the absolute best of their employees, creating a positive and supportive workplace it needs to be engrained into its management structure.
In 2017 YouGov and The Prince’s Responsible Business Network conducted a study of full and part-time employees in the workplace and their mental health. Although figures and awareness is slowly improving the summary concluded “too many men and women with mental health issues are suffering in silence at work, unable to seek help from colleagues or managers. Fears of prejudice and exclusion are limiting employees’ ability to achieve their full potential, in the workplace or at home” Below are some interesting headline statistics from the survey…
Some Interesting facts…
So, what can we do?
Recently a new online resource Mental Health at Work Gateway was set up by Mind and The Royal Foundation. It includes resources, toolkits and case studies to help. If you’re an employer, consider some of the toolkits on the site and how you might instigate change inside your organisation. If you’re an employee maybe think about passing this to your colleagues and managers, especially people in HR roles.
Secondly, let’s talk more about it and keep raising the issue. Subscribe to us and comment below on your own experiences or experiences of people you know. How does your company support mental health in the workplace if at all? We need to continue to raise awareness on this topic, campaign for your company to do more and finally, don’t forget to follow us on Twitter and Instagram to help spread our message for all of us to do more!
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https://www.mentalhealthatwork.org.uk/
You can also read the full results of study below:
https://wellbeing.bitc.org.uk/system/files/research/bitcmental_health_at_work_report-2017.pdf
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Could reducing working hours contribute positively to mental health at work? https://mindfulcollective.net/2018/12/19/mindful-monday-working-a-four-day-week/
We have had a big push on this recently at work. We have had posters around site saying that if a colleague appears to be stressed or looks like they may need someone to talk to, we should take them aside, make a cuppa, grab some biscuits and have a chat about how they are feeling. I’ve also recently asked if I can do the training course provided by work to be a mental health first aider. I have been told the course has had a lot of interest and they are having to look over applications to decide who can attend the course, which I think is brilliant! This shows that people really are taking an interest in this and would like to help out people that need someone to talk to. We have also started having some fortnightly talks and seminars on mental and health and a few workshops on how to reduce stress. We use the Validium system here on site and that is a great tool for anyone who may be struggling to get some support. I feel very proud to work for an organisation that is doing it’s best to raise awareness of mental health.
There are lots of other useful articles on this subject if you delve deeply. Here’s one we like that is good for thought – https://www.crams.online/ultimate-guide-improving-managing-mental-health-work/ and includes a step by step guide to get you started.
Our organisation is underpinned by its people, working collaboratively to deliver technology and expertise. That is why internally we are consistently making our peoples mental health a priority.
The company encourages its people to be Mental Health Champions, these are specific employees who can choose to have training to support others within the organisation. I think this is a fantastic step forward for the business as awareness of this very important issue is being raised. And for those who wish to, we can champion the importance of our employees wellbeing to ensure we can continue to work collaboratively to deliver our expert products and services.