We’re getting ready to support Mental Health First Aid England (MHFA)’s first “My Whole Self Day” on 18th March.
This new campaign calls on companies and places of work to encourage their team members to bring their whole selves to work and is being celebrated later this month…
It’s better for everyone’s mental well-being and better for business.
No-one wants to get up in the morning and go into a place of work where they have to hide away key aspects of their personality, like religion, sexuality, personality or health issues. A healthy, thriving business is one in which inclusion and diversity are celebrated.
It’s not about divulging deepest, darkest secrets to work colleagues, but where everyone can feel that they are allowed to be authentic, and authentically know others too. This fosters a culture of support and trust and leads to teams working better together, being able to be more creative and thinking more boldly. Who doesn’t want that for their people or business?
This is all hugely beneficial to mental health and well-being, reducing feelings of ‘imposter syndrome’, anxiety and insecurity. One of Google’s most recent studies has shown that ‘psychological safety’ is one of the most important factors for high performing, excelling teams.
So how can you help your team to feel more supported?
Just as someone who was physically unwell would feel more reassured in the workplace with a First Aider present, you can go a long way to encouraging support by training a proportion of your workforce to become Mental Health First Aiders. This teaches them how to identify, understand and help someone who may be experiencing a mental health issue.
Mental health issues cost businesses huge amounts every year, and for the most part, can go unnoticed and unsupported:
• Only 16% of employees felt able to disclose a mental health issue to their manager
• Only 30% of line managers have taken part in mental health training
• Mental ill health is responsible for 72 million working days lost
• Mental health related absences cost businesses £34.9 billion each year
If you want to get your business involved in “My Whole Self Day”, MHFA have some great resources available on their website, including social media banners, posters to print out and activities to run across your business: https://mhfaengland.org/my-whole-self/.
If you’d like to get more involved in supporting others’ mental health, get in touch to find out more about our in-house training courses for your business. Alternatively, join one of our MHFA-affiliated Mental Health Champion/First Aider courses. Contact Deanne Walsh at info@dewaconsulting.co.uk or call 07832 615751.