Mates in Mind is raising awareness about mental ill-health at work by supporting managers across the UK in tackling the issue, to mark Time to Talk Day.
In 2019, 70% of managers reported barriers to mental health support within their workplace, whereas 62% revealed that they had faced situations where they put the interests of their organisation above the wellbeing of colleagues.
Acknowledging this, Mates in Mind has produced a free Manager’s Guide to support managers in starting vital conversations and taking steps towards tackling mental ill-health in their workplace.
Steve Martin, Managing Director of Xmo Strata, said: “There is a moral obligation on individuals, and in my view a professional obligation on managers, to make themselves aware of it [mental illness] and provide comradeship, and leadership, which is sensitive to it.
“As employers, we’re not experts. We need someone who can translate clinical information and advice from mental health professionals into something that is pragmatic and do-able in the working environment. Mates in Mind supported our organisation with this, and gave us ‘oven-ready’ advice which enabled us to move towards having a mentally healthy and sustainable workforce across the board.”
James Rudoni, Managing Director at Mates in Mind said: “We urge managers across the UK to join us in starting the conversation about mental health. No matter where you are in your mental health journey Mates in Mind are here to help.
“With the support and commitment of managers, our work to transform the overall mental health of workforces can gather the momentum it needs to drive a lasting change. We know that enabling people to open up a conversation about mental health while providing them with the awareness and education to discuss the topic, continues to be the most immediate and effective starting point for improving mental health. Through these conversations, we can develop open working environments where the stigma and silence around the topic can be eliminated.”
Working alongside Supporter organisations from across the UK, Mates in Mind has already begun to drive a change across the construction industry and beyond through their joined-up approach to mental health.
Mates in Mind’s ‘Let’s talk. Let’s act’ Manager’s Guide can be downloaded here.
Mental ill-health in the construction industry
In January, it was annoucned that Mates in Mind has joined the Industry and Parliament Trust (IPT) in a roundtable discussion exploring the prevalence and impacts of mental ill-health in the construction industry.
During the roundtable, which was chaired by Liz Twist MP, who has served as the Member of Parliament for Blaydon since 2017, James Rudoni invited attendees of the event to join the charity in a further discussion around the topic. The roundtable also featured guest speaker Greg Craig, President & CEO of Skanska UK.
James said: “The Industry and Parliamentary Trust’s roundtable was an excellent opportunity for us not only to raise awareness about the prominent challenge we are addressing, exploring both the business cost of if mental ill-health but also the undeniable human cost that it is having too.
“Mates in Mind remains committed to our goal of reaching 75% of the construction industry by 2025. Our work alongside key industry partners since 2017 has shown that when we work together, we have been able to start a conversation and take action to support even the hardest to reach groups in our workforces.
“We were pleased to have been able to start the conversation about our charity’s mission with those at the roundtable and see huge value in continuing to develop discussions with those who participated further. We would like to invite all those attended the IPT roundtable to join Mates in Mind at a further discussion to be hosted in the coming months.
“In hosting this next discussion, we intend to bring together a bring a group of like-minded individuals, to share insight and current best practice in order to further develop this conversation around how we can tackle mental ill-health in the workplace.
“We also look forward to taking this opportunity to broaden the community of support that is driving meaningful and long-lasting change across a range of industries.”
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.
