British bank TSB is enhancing its mental health support benefit for employees to allow them to include a member of their family or a friend.
In May 2020, TSB partnered with mental health platform Unmind to support the wellbeing of its 6,600 employees during the Covid-19 (Coronavirus). Due to the ongoing uncertainty of the pandemic, the organisation wanted to give employees the option to choose one other person to have access to the mental health service for free.
The Unmind platform gives users the opportunity to access health and wellbeing advice through cognitive behavioural therapy (CBT), neuroscience, mindfulness and positive psychology practices. It also equips employees with the tools to assess their mental health and wellbeing, such as through questionnaires and everyday mood diaries.
Since May 2019, TSB has been part of the Time to Change pledge, showing its commitment to support the mental health of its employees. This pledge focusses on normalising conversations about mental health by encouraging employees, including senior leaders, to share personal experiences.
Liz Ashford, director of HR at TSB, said: “We should not underestimate the mixing bowl of emotions everyone is experiencing now, and unfortunately not everyone will have access to the support they need. The recent launch of Unmind has been used by almost one-third of TSB employees and, as we experience a second lockdown across England, we are extending Unmind to help cultivate strong support networks for our employees’ loved ones.”