Managers Receive Expert Mental Health Training from Mind
According to research carried out by
Mind, there’s a culture of fear and silence around mental health that affects
employees and businesses throughout the UK. With 21% of workers saying that
they have called in sick as a result of workplace stress, 30% disagreeing that
they would feel able to talk openly with their line manager about it, and a
staggering 56% of employers saying they would like to do more to improve staff
wellbeing but don't feel they have the right training or guidance, it’s clear
that significant change is required.
That’s why we’ve recently started a
strong partnership with Mind to deliver first-rate mental health awareness
training to our managers and team leaders. We believe that this is not only a
responsible way of ensuring that our colleagues feel confident enough to
discuss any qualms, but also gives them a safe and reassuring working environment
in which they can develop skill sets and enhance their careers.
Earlier this year, we invited Lorraine
Hamilton, a Mental Health Trainer from Hull and East Yorkshire Mind, to visit
SGS and teach key members of staff a range of topics and techniques. Reflecting
our focus on employee wellbeing, the session included tips and exercises on how
to examine our own stress bucket and methods of applying coping strategies to
increase our resilience. The training was so successful that we have now
expanded it to other SGS offices, including a recent event that saw managers from
Marks/R5 and SGS coming together in
London.
This training session, titled ‘Managing
Stress and Mental Health in Your Staff’, covered a wide-ranging agenda with
specific learning outcomes. Our colleagues explored how to recognise some of the early signs of mental
health difficulties in the workplace, promote positive mental health, encourage
personal responsibility for wellbeing, understand responsibilities of an
employer under relevant legislation, and feel confident to support a member of
staff experiencing a mental health issue or mental illness. Using the Mind
Wellness Action Plan, we are now working toward our goal of ensuring that every
SGS employee has the knowledge required to look after others as well as themselves.
Mind is a fantastic charity that relies
on funding and fundraising to deliver a variety of services, which is why our
apprentices in Hull chose the local branch as one of their four beneficiaries
for 2019. Through a range of year-round activity, the apprentices and their
colleagues are raising money that will be split between HEY Mind, Hull Homeless
Community Project, Yorkshire Cancer Research and Aaron’s Battle. If you’d like
to add something to the pot, you can make a donation on their GoFundMe page.
Following Mind’s philosophy that talking
about a mental health problem doesn’t have to be difficult, we are dedicated to
supporting our staff and helping them to recognise triggers, build resilience, understand
the impact of stigma, and work together
to further develop a company culture that revolves around wellbeing, self-care
and solidarity. We would like to thank Mind and its staff for all of the
invaluable insight and training so far, and we look forward to what the future
of this partnership will bring.
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