Mental health in the workplace

Mental health in the workplace is a big issue. However much we are changing the makeup of our team, we have a majority male workforce and suicide is the biggest killer of men under 45 – Construction industry statistics being three times the national average with one a day in the UK in this industry.

For this reason, we engaged an experienced Mental Health Counsellor from local company, Mindful Training, to run a series of Mental Health Resilience Workshops. In this picture, you can see much of the team undergoing this first stage of their training.

This led on to a two-day MHFA (Mental Health First Aid) accredited training for eight of our team and Suicide First Aid Training to a further two staff members.

The team pictured here from left to right.

Richard Kimpton, Paul Davies, Keith Watts, Mike Jebb, Phil Bowers, Mark Farrel, Liam Duncalf, Chris Tolley and Sean Liddell of Mindful Training.

Speaking about the training, Phil Bowers, Contracts Manager in the Acoustics Division said

“It was incredibly useful. Not just for giving us an understanding of the various types of issues colleagues can face but also understanding how to spot signs and maybe more importantly, how to approach speaking to someone who may be in trouble.

We all need to be more aware of our own, and others’, mental health and how to cope with mental health when it inevitably fluctuates.

If I was sitting with someone in the canteen and I saw signs of trouble, It’s given me the tools to know how talk to them.”

Statistics from mentalhealth.org show how big an issue it is.

1 in 6.8 people experience mental health problems in the workplace (14.7%).

Evidence suggests that 12.7% of all sickness absence days in the UK can be attributed to mental health conditions.

Working conditions and environment can have a huge impact on mental health and, equally, someone’s mental health can have a significant impact to perform well in their job.

As an organisation, we are committed to ensuring we keep our staff safe and healthy. For us, this training is another step in the right direction.