May 18, 2018

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Mental Health

New wellbeing service launched

To mark the launch the Barbour EHS New Mental Health and Wellbeing Module, Barbour and The Healthy Work Company hosted a session on Practical Approaches to Wellbeing, with a specific focus on Mental Health, for industry delegates.

BarbourHeather Beach, from The Healthy Work, kicked off proceedings by stating that the aim of the newly launched service was about inspiring the mental health profession.

Find out more with our free model policy download.

She also looked to dispel the myths of the negative connotations that surround mental health and stress. Heather pointed out that everyone has mental health and that: “Mental health does not always mean mental ill health”.

She added: “Sometimes we need stress to get us motivated and moving.”

Teresa Higgins, Director at Barbour EHS, said that the service would “give professionals a resource that will save them time and effort”.

The first of the guest speakers was Clive Johnson, who is currently employed by Landsec PLC as their Group Head of Health, Safety and Security. Clive’s role in the business is to ensure compliance across a very diverse property portfolio which includes shopping centres, retail parks, leisure, residential, hotels and development projects.

Clive said that it had been two and a half years since the launch of the first health summit, which he described as a “great moment for construction.”

Clive’s vision is that “by 2025, construction will be the leading industry in occupational health and wellbeing.”

He went on to say: “In the last couple of years, we’ve gone from shouting about safety and whispering about health, to talking about health. Health is now part of the conversation.”

Inspirational

Rob Stephenson, campaigner, public speaker and founder of Inside-Out, then took to the stage with an inspirational speech on the impact of mental health and stress at work.

Rob has Bipolar disorder and talked through some of his own personal experiences and how it has affected his work and home life.

He highlighted the need for mental health to become more of a focus with an alarming stat that last year in the construction industry there were 35 fatalities, compared to 430 suicides.

He concluded by advising that people should: “Talk about mental health. Ask people if they are ok. And be prepared for the answer.”

Heather then returned to the stage to speak about practical implementations of wellbeing in the workplace.

She said: “Mental health is very difficult for employers and managers, when it comes to addressing mental health with staff.”

Organisations are worried about doing or saying the wrong thing and getting into trouble.

Wellbeing was described as not just the absence of disease or illness. It is a complex combination of a person’s physical, mental, emotional and social health factors.

Heather added that: “Wellbeing used to be about physical wellbeing, but it is now more about tackling the stigma.”

Heather will be part of an SHP panel debate at Safety & Health Expo 2018, discussing whether perceived stress is really more important than safety. This will take place in the Keynote Theatre at 15:30 on Tuesday 19 June.

Workshops

The event concluded with a series of workshop sessions which looked at how some high profile businesses are tackling mental health within their organisation.

One such workshop featured a presentation by Lesley Heath, Head of Safety & Environment at West Midlands Trains, who spoke about the importance of understanding the culture of your organisation.

As part of its mental health programme, the company has sent staff on a mental health first air course and produced a series of videos highlight the value of the training.

One such video features 56-year-old Depot Manager, John Mille who described it as a “lightbulb moment” in his life.

This video has been used with permission of West Midlands Trains.

What will the module cover?

Barbour resource topic coverage:

  • Business case for wellbeing
  • Mental health awareness and wellbeing for line managers
  • Mental health awareness
  • Mental health first aid
  • Mental health in the workplace
  • Resilience
  • Stress in the workplace

A number of case studies, produced by Barbour, are also available.   

Third party content topic coverage:

  • Anxiety
  • Bullying and harassment
  • Depression
  • Equality
  • Fit for work
  • Health
  • Health and work
  • Human rights
  • Mental health
  • Mental health first aid
  • Stress
  • Suicide
  • Wellbeing
  • Work life balance and flexible working
  • Working environment
  • Working time
  • Workplace strategy

A range of guidance and information is available, along with legislation and case law.

Find out more with our free model policy download.

Barbour EHS will be exhibiting at Safety & Health Expo 2018, on Stand: V360

Barbour EHS is the oldest and best known provider of specialist information services to industry professionals and has been keeping you safe since 1957. It uses its  wealth of knowledge to help you improve efficiency, save time and reduce costs across your diverse range of responsibilities.

Keep yourself and your organisation compliant via a comprehensive knowledge-bank of over 800 trusted industry sources for all the essential legislation, guidance, intelligence and practical tools you need to ensure you are well-informed and always up-to-date with what’s happening in the industry. You also have the ability to personalise the updates you receive to cut straight through the wealth of updates that take place every day, getting you straight to what matters for you.

What makes us susceptible to burnout?

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.

stress

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