Mental Health Awareness Week in the Workplace
Mental Health Awareness Week is a national campaign hosted by Mental Health Foundation, the UK’s leading charity with a public mental health approach to prevention, and takes places 10th – 16th May 2021. We’re taking the opportunity to share a curated list of resources for the workplace that you can use as a whole or to support the mental health initiatives happening in your organisation.
A plan of action for the week and beyond
Monday: make your intentions clear
If you haven’t already, raising awareness of this week inside your organisation is a powerful statement of your commitment to a positive culture that supports good mental health. You can do this in a number of different ways, starting with these Zoom backdrops you can use on video calls, or these posters you can publish internally.
Tuesday: top down approach
The only effective, sustainable approach to employee wellbeing involves the whole organisation. Attitudes filter down from leaders and must be backed up with policies and procedures. The Line Managers’ Resource is a comprehensive document you can use today, and reference again and again.
Wednesday: bringing your whole self to work
My Whole Self is the campaign for workplace culture change from Mental Health First Aid (MHFA) England. It aims to create a workplace culture where people have the safety and freedom to choose which parts of their identity they share at work, without fear of judgement.
Some of our favourite activities in the campaign include the My Whole Self panel discussion and #MyWholeSelfie, where individuals are encouraged to share a selfie alongside words to describe their whole self.
Thursday: encourage regular wellbeing check-ins
Launch a periodic mental health and wellness survey to keep a finger on the pulse of your people and understand how they are feeling. You can encourage people to do this privately (using the MOT tool linked below), or launch an internal survey to enable people to submit answers. Culture Amp have a great resource to you can use as is or customise to suit your needs.
Friday: address your stress
Mental Health First Aiders can make a crucial difference in your workplace. They’re trained to spot risk factors early and offer appropriate and effective support at the right time, which can help prevent the situation escalating and becoming more damaging for the individual and for the business. Read the report to understand the benefits of implementing mental health first aiders in your organisation. Or get in touch with us to learn more about mental health first aid training in the workplace.
Additional Resources
- Mental Health at Work: A YouGov survey from over 4,000 employees informs this report, which includes recommendations on how to create positive, inclusive workplace cultures that help rather than harm the mental health of the people who work in them.
- Mental Health Toolkit for employers: A toolkit created in association with Public Health England, including stats and facts, as well as practical and actionable steps to support mental health initiatives in your organisation.
- Thriving at work: The Stevenson/Farmer review of mental health and employers: an independent review into how employers can support the mental health of all people currently in employment.
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