This year’s Mental Health Awareness Week theme, run by the Mental Health Foundation, is “community.”
Many of us know the phrase “it takes a village” – commonly referencing raising children, it can apply to all aspects of our lives. We can’t be everywhere all at once – supporting our families, ourselves, our colleagues, and on top of that, making sure we are mentally and physically healthy.
No one should suffer in silence, whether at home or at work. Workplace stress, tiredness and burnout happen all too easily. Prioritising community means creating an environment where colleagues feel comfortable speaking up and leaders know how to respond effectively.
Over the past few months, we have focused on strengthening our mental health support system to help colleagues not just open up about their struggles, but truly flourish.
Financial wellbeing and stress management
Throughout April, to coincide with Financial Wellbeing Month, we hosted a range of seminars on relevant topics for our colleagues. With the help of our financial education and wellbeing training provider FINWELL, we delivered:
- a “Mastering Money Management” class
- a “Making Your Money Work for You” class
- a “Money Midlife MOT” class
These classes provided tailored financial planning guidance based on colleagues’ different experiences.
We offered all colleagues a GoHenry free trial for the whole of April. The service supports parents by teaching their children about money through gamified money lessons, to support their financial independence with clear guidance.
We also created some bite-sized videos colleagues could access any time, on topics including:
- What is Financial Wellbeing
- Dealing with Debt
- Building Emergency Funds
- Understanding Spending Habits
These resources are accessible on our internal platform to guide colleagues through their financial problems and provide them with resources.
Mental Health Awareness Week courses
During Mental Health Awareness Week, we are offering Mental Health First Aider (MHFA) refresher courses across our network. 16 colleagues are attending this training to keep their skills sharp and their knowledge current. For those less knowledgeable on mental health first aid, we are also running lunch and learn sessions.
These sessions will explain how MHFA supports colleagues, break down mental health myths, and outline how to reach out for help. Many colleagues hesitate to seek MHFA support simply because they don’t know what to expect. These sessions will outline exactly that – how a colleague’s journey goes from reaching out to signposting support.
Leadership workshops
In partnership with corporate wellbeing provider SuperWellness, we are also helping organisational leaders champion mental health through leadership workshops. Line managers and team leaders greatly influence an organisation’s culture and employee wellbeing. These introductory sessions equip leaders with essential workplace wellbeing insights, including:
- Why wellbeing at work matters and key facts on how it can reduce risk management perspective, improve team performance and retention
- Understanding the main psychosocial risk factors and how to address them
- The importance of psychological safety and empathetic communication, including scenarios and examples
These sessions will end with key takeaways and actions for leadership so they can begin implementing their learning at work straight away.
Taking on challenges together
Mental Health Awareness Week is all about community, and together we can build respectful communities through open dialogue, where leaders and colleagues are prepared to support those who are struggling.
That is why we are doing a collective Three Peaks virtual walk from Snowdon, Scafell Pike and Ben Nevis through our virtual platform WellMe. The journey will cover over 406 miles, 952,755 steps together. The optional challenge is designed to highlight the positive links between physical activity, mental health, and coming together.
To celebrate our colleagues taking part, we will also plant one tree for every 10 participants who join along the way.
Learn more about our WD&I initiatives, including our menopause in the workplace blog and our social ESG commitments.