The importance of supporting mental health in the work place

It’s Mental Health Awareness Day this week. While I am not always a fan of awareness days and weeks, anything that gets us talking about mental health has to be a positive. No one needs me to tell them that the last few years have been stressful. And triggers are different for everyone. But from Covid lockdowns to cost of living crises – there has been a lot going on that can add to day-to-day pressures of life.

Keeping the conversation channels open, and letting people know that talking about mental health is not taboo, are the first and most important roles I think an employer can play. Mental Health Awareness Day might be your starting point. But it’s just one day. We all need to be ‘aware’ for the other 365 days as well. It’s the reason we have trained Mental Health First Aiders from all around our business, and we regularly encourage people to seek support should they need it. It’s also why we make sure the private healthcare package we offer includes mental health support. And why we work closely with NABS, a brilliant charity that offers a host of free resources to improve the wellbeing of everyone in the advertising and media industries.

None of us know when, or why, we might need help. It’s much easier sometimes to open up about physical ailments. But the increasing recognition that mental and physical health are intrinsically linked, and that we must look after and recognise both, is a huge step forward and something I wholeheartedly believe in.