The courses come as evidence grows that more people are experiencing mental health problems due to work.
According to the Thriving At Work report, which was published in October, poor mental health costs the UK economy between £74 and £99 billion a year and 300,000 people with long-term mental health problems lose their jobs each year.
And a recent report by Business in the Community claimed 60% of employees have experienced a mental health problem due to work and around a third (31%) have been formally diagnosed with a mental health issue.
The range of courses start with a 45-minute sessions, entitled “Start the Conversation”, which aims to get employees thinking about mental health and talking about it.
The three-hour “Manage the Conversation” workshop gives line managers the skills and confidence to be able to talk to someone who wants to share about their mental wellbeing.
And the council is also now offering a two-day Mental Health First Aid course, which has been developed by Mental Health First Aid England, which teaches people how to identify and help someone who may be experiencing a mental health issue.
“Acting on the recommendations of the Stevenson-Farmer review of mental health and using our extensive training expertise, we have developed much needed tools to help people start and manage these difficult conversations about mental health,” said British Safety Council chief executive, Mike Robinson.
“These practical courses will support the development of a positive mental health culture in any organisation, regardless of its size and budget. By learning how to start and engage in open conversations about mental health we could help to save someone’s life one day.”
Earlier this week, SHP reported that responding to student mental health problems is now an “inevitable part” of the job for many university academics.
A report by the charity Student Minds warned many academics are unsure of their boundaries and are “struggling” to respond effectively to students’ mental health issues.
In this episode of the Safety & Health Podcast, ‘Burnout, stress and being human’, Heather Beach is joined by Stacy Thomson to discuss burnout, perfectionism and how to deal with burnout as an individual, as management and as an organisation.
We provide an insight on how to tackle burnout and why mental health is such a taboo subject, particularly in the workplace.
