British Gas is backing an initiative aimed at fighting mental-health discrimination in the workplace.
The organisation is the latest major UK employer to pledge its support to the Time to Change campaign, which is run by mental-health charities Mind and Rethink Mental Illness. Through this commitment British Gas will promote a better understanding of mental-health problems, while offering support and welfare advice to their staff.
British Gas HR director Angela Williams added: “The Time to Change partnership is part of our ongoing commitment to address and support mental-health issues in the workplace.
“We are encouraging our people to be more open about mental health and to seek help earlier, meaning they are less likely to end up in crisis and more likely to be able to stay in work.”
Other individuals, groups and organisations who have also signed the Time to Change pledge include: the Archbishop of Canterbury, Ernst & Young, Transport for London, the FA, the Premier League, universities, BT, E.On, and Citizen’s Advice, as well as various NHS trusts, local authorities and Police forces.
Time to Change director Sue Baker said: “It’s fantastic that more and more organisations are showing their support in tackling the stigma experienced by people with mental-health problems. Employees and their staff can all play a part in helping to stamp out stigma and companies like British Gas are taking a lead.
“Many leading companies have found that making a strategic commitment to the mental wellbeing of their workforce not only has benefits for their staff but also benefits their bottom line, improving productivity and staff retention.”
To find out more about the Time to Change pledge, visit www.time-to-change.org.uk
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.
