According to the NHS, one in four adults and one in 10 children experience mental illness. Whether it is family or friends, neighbours or work colleagues, the chances are we all know someone who is affected.
A research by health insurance agency Berenden revealed that with a half of employees feeling that their job had become more stressful over the last five years, a third said they had suffered from stress while two in five had experienced sleep problems. Just five in 100 employees working in the manufacturing sector revealed they had sought help from their employer to help cope with stress.
Recognising the importance of mental health awareness in the workplace and aiming to tackle stigma and improve the mental wellbeing of their employees, Pincroft Dyeing & Printing decided to create the ‘Mental Health Supporters’ group.
The team formed by ten employees from different departments, attended a Mental Health First Aid course, designed to help raise awareness of mental health around the workplace and gain the skills to support those affected.
Using the tagline ‘Don’t Bottle it Up’ the Mental Health Supporters are launching their awareness campaign on 6th February in time for ‘Time to Talk Day’, a social movement encouraging people to be more open about mental health. On the day supporters will be providing colleagues with information about the support they can offer, as well as running an internal campaign for awareness.
Pincroft’s SHEQ Manager Andrew Meacher added: “Mental Health is an integral and essential part of our wellbeing. It has always been the elephant in the room. We all knew it was there, now is the time to create an environment that supports mental health and changes attitudes. Anyone can suffer from these problems, over a lifetime most of us will. The site now has 10 members trained to support employees in their welfare.”
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