Welcome to Mental Health Week in association with Benenden.
This dedicated week is designed to bring you exclusive insights and opinions, uncovering the latest trends and best practice in supporting mental health at work.
The issue of mental health has slowly been climbing its way up employers’ agendas, with an increasing number of organisations looking more closely at the benefits, communications and support systems that can affect their employees’ mental wellbeing and help them develop emotional resilience.
A relatively new initiative that is being embraced by many businesses is to introduce mental health first aiders, which are the mental health equivalent of physical health first aiders. These individuals are trained to identify the symptoms of mental health problems, effectively support individuals suffering from emotional distress and supply information on gaining the right professional support. However, to ensure they are effective employers must take some practical steps to highlight their purpose. They must look beyond the initial training to how first aiders can stay on top of any emerging issues.
Some organisations are now also considering how they can tailor their mental health support to different groups of workers in terms of age, job role or location, for example. This can include remote and home workers, who may need different types of support to those based in the workplace. In addition, some mental health conditions are specific to certain industry sectors, so employers may choose to offer targeted support in these areas.
Another factor that can have an impact on mental health but that is sometimes overlooked is the physical workplace. Natural light, decor and plants, for example, can all influence how employees feel within their workplace. And, of course, there are also provisions that employers can put in place to support good mental health, such as meditation or wellbeing rooms.
For some employers, the key issue will be around organisational culture and how they can create an open and honest environment in which individuals feel confident about discussing any mental health issues they may have.
Whatever stage you are at and however you support mental wellbeing in your organisation, Mental Health Week is designed to help take this to the next level.
