A new campaign created by employers for employers to boost mental health and productivity by encouraging open conversations in workplaces in the East Midlands has been officially launched.
“Bridge the Gap, Start a Chat” has been launched by the Mental Health and Productivity Pilot (MHPP) to give businesses and organisations of all sizes and sectors the help they need to encourage staff and bosses alike to open up about their mental health.
The campaign was created by MHPP with input from a group of ten Midlands employers from a variety of sectors and geographies, as well as employees with lived experience of mental health problems.
It’s one of a number of ways that MHPP, a collaboration of Midlands universities, local authorities and mental health charity Mind, is supporting employers to understand the important link between staff mental health and wellbeing, and business productivity.
Research has shown that mental health is one of the biggest causes of sickness absences in Midlands businesses – and the impact of COVID-19 has recently become another key factor in poor mental health at work.
As well as tips and advice on starting conversations, for line managers and employees, employers can access a free ‘resource pack’ on the MHPP website, which gives resources and guidance to help them roll out a campaign to encourage conversations about mental health in their own organisation.
The pack includes campaign planning guidance, downloadable resources to support both employees and line managers to start conversations and awareness-raising promotional materials such as posters, social media assets, video call backgrounds and email signature banners – all of which employers can use to suit the needs of the business.
Manjinder Singh, Head of Consulting at infrastructure consulting firm AECOM, which has offices in Nottingham and Chesterfield and contributed to the campaign, felt it was a great way for businesses to take the first step into making a huge difference to staff mental health and productivity.
He added: “As a business we began to place a spotlight on the topic of mental health some years ago, recognising the importance of wellbeing in creating a culture of care that enables our people to bring their best selves to work.
“Through Midlands Engine’s Mental Health & Productivity Pilot (MHPP) we can share lessons learned from our journey with other organisations, adding diversity of thought to discussions on the role of employers in supporting mental health.
And Sinziana Irimia, who was diagnosed with postpartum depression while working for her current employer, thought Bridge the Gap, Start a Chat was key to supporting employees to feel comfortable with talking about their mental health at work.
She said: “No one should feel they have to hide mental health conditions at work. For so many years it has been seen as a weakness, but that’s far from the truth.
“I got involved with this campaign because I wanted to help change the mindset of workplaces when it comes to mental health. The pressure I felt around not delivering in my job because of my mental health condition was huge.
“On more vulnerable days, my anxiety kicked in and I feared that I might become jobless. But in reality, I love my job and I am good at it. People with mental health problems can and do fulfil our jobs to a high standard every day.
“It is essential to be able to talk openly with your colleagues about mental health. Just knowing that someone else has been in your shoes and they are still standing and can get on with their lives – that’s important.
“This campaign will get employees feeling more confident to open up to talking about mental health in the workplace, which will make a massive difference to people’s wellbeing with a direct impact on their performance at work.”
MHPP is funded by Midlands Engine and is led by Coventry University in partnership with the University of Warwick, the West Midlands Combined Authority, mental health charity Mind and the universities of Birmingham, Derby, Lincoln, Loughborough and Nottingham.
Prior to the campaign launch MHPP has been helping employers across the Midlands to take steps to support and improve the mental health of their workforce, and ultimately increase productivity.
Caroline Geraghty, MHPP Project Manager at Coventry University said: “Bridge the Gap, Start a Chat is all about giving employers and employees the support and confidence to start conversations at work about mental health. In the same way that we all have physical health, everyone has mental health too, so it’s important that people feel able to talk about mental health wherever they work.
“We know from talking to Midlands employers, that often people find it hard to talk about mental health at work. Through ‘Bridge the Gap, Start a Chat’ we want to show employers and employees that it doesn’t need to be difficult and starting a conversation is a great place to begin.
“There’s some really good advice on the web site, and we’ve made it easy for employers run their own campaign by providing guidance and resources that can be downloaded and shared with staff.
“Ultimately, talking about mental health is the first step that employers can take to supporting staff. MHPP also offers a range of other free support, to help organisations implement a structured approach to improving workplace mental health – and it doesn’t cost anything as our work is funded by Midlands Engine.
“If enough employers get on board, it will make an enormous difference to the health and wellbeing of workers across the Midlands.”
