Pirtek UK and Ireland supports mindfulness in the workplace through internal campaigns and dedicated wellbeing support.
The hydraulic and industrial hose services provider operates across 23 countries and has more than 400 employees. Its UK network includes a fleet of hundreds of mobile service units and local service centres.
Its overarching aim is to ensure provide early support, rather than just rely solely on formal mindfulness practices. It has made a conscious effort to acknowledge mental health and mindfulness, and actively prioritise these across all levels of the UK and Ireland business. It has achieved this through its Under the Hard Hat campaign, which has been designed to break the stigma around mental health within male-dominated industries. Through this, it has encouraged open conversations, offered manager mental health training, and provided access to external resources, such as the Hub of Hope app. This signposts to services that offer mental health and mindfulness support, such as counselling and mindfulness meditation, to cope with anxiety and emotional distress.
The employer has also partnered with several charities that offer assistance with mental health and mindfulness, such as peer-to-peer support and regular check-ins to flag any issues early with men’s mental health charity Andy’s Man Club. Staff can also access the Under the Hard Hat podcast, which features discussions between former UK special forces soldier Ollie Ollerton, Andy’s Man Club’s Lucas Whitehead, Pirtek’s managing director Adam Burrows and quality, health, safety and environment manager Martyn Smart, on mental wellbeing and mindfulness.
Pirtek has also introduced a team of qualified mental health first aiders, so staff can reach out for support with mental health and mindfulness whenever they need it. This is part of its aim to create a workplace culture where employees feel safe to say if they are not okay and know there is support available without judgement.
The feedback has been consistently positive, and giving employees permission to acknowledge when they are struggling, and backing it up with tangible support, builds trust and improves morale, explains Rupi Sodhi, HR manager at Pirtek.
“It goes beyond individual wellbeing; creating space for honest conversation helps managers and teams work more effectively, with fewer misunderstandings, better communication and a more empathetic working environment,” she says. ”That’s valuable, especially in a business like ours where many of our employees are in high-pressure, time-critical roles.”
Pirtek’s approach to wellbeing is embedded into its broader people strategy, rather than treated as a standalone project. It helps to support and strengthen staff attraction and retention, engagement, leadership and development. The organisation wants to be a place where people feel proud to work and believes supporting mental wellbeing and mindfulness is a big part of that.
It also recognises that its field-based staff may be more isolated than its office-based teams, so feels it is important to build a culture where regular check-ins, and mindfulness and mental health conversations are normalised.
When employees feel supported, they are more likely to stay, grow and contribute positively to the organisation, while ignoring mental health can lead to increased absenteeism, presenteeism and staff turnover, which can be costly, explains Sodhi.
“Introducing mindfulness and mental wellbeing support isn’t just good for staff; it’s good for business,” she says. ”We’ve seen improvements in engagement, a greater willingness to speak up and collaborate, and a reduction in stress-related absences. Offering this kind of support demonstrates that we take our duty of care seriously and value our employees’ mental health as much as their physical safety. Whether it’s a conversation over a cup of tea or pointing someone towards professional help, we believe every step matters, and we’re committed to continuing that journey together.”
