Fionuala Bonnar, Chief Operating Officer at MHFA England, summarises the new Business in the Community Toolkit for Employers.
Last week, Business in the Community (BITC) launched two important milestones for workplace mental health: a free toolkit for employers, and the National Employee Mental Wellbeing Survey – the largest ever survey of mental health at work. With one in six employees currently experiencing mental health issues, and a proven correlation between healthy staff and motivation and performance, BITC explains that mental health is an “essential business concern”. So let’s take a quick look at what these resources have to offer.
The toolkit for employers is a practical resource which takes you step-by-step through rolling out an employee wellbeing programme. No matter where your organisation currently sits on the journey to mental health excellence, there are actions to help you move forward. You will find everything you need to evaluate where you are currently, hone in on what needs to improve, create and implement a plan, provide the right support for maintaining mental health and recovery, and engage your employees throughout the process.
Each step provides an actionable checklist and signposts to all the right (free) resources to advance your organisation as a healthy, desirable place to work. To help organisations meet steps 4, 5 and 6, mental health training such as that offered by MHFA England is recommended. For further inspiration and guidance, the toolkit also contains a set of case studies from a range of different organisations - from small local businesses to large nationals and government departments.
Plenty of organisations are already reporting back on the positive outcomes of their wellbeing programme. Quoted in the toolkit, Eric Barratt, a Programme Manager at NHS England says: “The toolkit lays out a ‘core recipe’ of steps to follow and we are now seeing the steps we have taken as an employer are benefiting our staff.”
In case you are interested in reaping the same benefits in your organisation, we have summarised the 8 steps to mental health excellence for you. Click here to download the full toolkit.
Alongside the toolkit, BITC have launched the largest ever survey of mental health at work. The aim of the research is to “create the first real picture of what’s happening with workers’ wellbeing and what needs to change”.
The survey is a window of opportunity for employees to have their say. We encourage you to forward it to your colleagues, employees, and perhaps publicise it on the staff intranet or newsletter. Send a clear message to your employees that the workplace is dedicated to wellbeing, that you take this agenda seriously, and that their opinions will be heard.
Run by YouGov, the survey is completely confidential and runs for 11 weeks. Click here for the National Employee Mental Health Survey.
Another great tool for your wellbeing kit was launched by BITC earlier this year, this time focusing on the role of line managers. ‘Leading on mental wellbeing’ sets out a blueprint for how to equip and empower line managers to benefit the whole organisation. Two calls to action were made to all businesses: to sign up to the Time to Change organisational pledge, and to introduce Mental Health First Aid training for line managers. It is free to download and well worth a read for anyone looking to embed wellbeing into organisational culture.