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Last year, MHFA England client, Ford Motor Company began supporting MHFA England’s workplace culture change campaign My Whole Self, and around 12 of their national Mental Health First Aiders joined in.
Fast forward a year and the level of engagement across the business has risen substantially as Debbie Francis, Senior HR Business Partner at Ford Credit Europe Bank plc explains,
“We were totally overwhelmed with the level of participation this year in My Whole Self – over 100 employees participated, and we still have more taking part, every day!”
As part of their support for the campaign, more than 200 of Ford’s Mental Health First Aiders got the ball rolling by creating and uploading #MyWholeSelfies to the organisation’s Mental Health First Aid SharePoint.
Taking their lead from MHFA England, the activity was designed to highlight how employees only see glimpses of their colleagues’ lives in the workplace, often not getting to see the whole person. By encouraging people to create #MyWholeSelfies, the hope is that everyone will be able to support and understand each other more and the different aspects of their life that make them who they are.
Debbie, a Mental Health First Aider since 2017 and one of the driving forces behind Ford’s mental health support network globally, continues,
“People have really opened up about powerful things such as bullying, counselling and depression. #MyWholeSelf is about us opening up and saying, ‘this is who we are,’ and it’s not just about mental health but about diversity, equity and inclusion as well. This year, the engagement even went global with colleagues across Europe and America, including our Ford Credit Europe CEO taking part!”
Britta Wunderlich, an MHFAider in Germany said,
“I worked on my selfie for four days. Added, deleted, added again, struggled about what to say. It really feels like a small coming out and usually I prefer to stand in the second row, but it is the coming outs that are important and that's what matters. To make others feel that they are not alone. To see that others experienced or even still experience the same and that it is possible to make it and to live with it”.
Lee Walker, Director, Quality, Ford of Europe, and Ford’s senior executive sponsor for mental health and wellbeing, said,
“I really enjoyed the #mywholeself initiative and was amazed at how many views and interactions I received, just from sharing some personal things about myself. The team created a collage of all selfies which I used as a wallpaper on my computer. It was a great way to get to know our Mental Health First Aider family a little better. We have an incredible, diverse team at Ford, and I'm proud to be a part of it."
Debbie finishes by saying,
“We believe that MHFA England’s campaign for workplace culture change builds on our culture of respect and collaboration by encouraging us all to bring our whole self to work, to support our own and others’ wellbeing. The campaign is a great way to further strengthen relationships and discover new things about each other.”
Find out more about My Whole Self