Safe and Well Newsletter - March
Here at LSP we would like to continue supporting the safety and wellbeing of our apprentices, below is our March edition of the ‘Safe & Well’ newsletter. The focus this month is Mental Health and building resilience. We thank you for taking the time to read through and hope that you find the links very useful in raising awareness of Mental Health in the workplace.
Emotional Wellbeing in the workplace and Building Resilience
Welcome, I would like to start this 2nd edition newsletter by stating the obvious, that we all have mental health as much as physical health, in fact the two are inextricably linked! And in this sense, we have a duty to look after both, for ourselves, friends, family and work colleagues.
However, there is still a lack of understanding about mental health and misperceptions persist. It is often seen as a weakness and something difficult to talk about. It can go unrecognised and ignored. Therefore, we all need to examine our own attitudes/beliefs on mental health and commit to raising awareness. In this way we help ourselves and others become more resilient to life’s challenges.
Recently I came across #Day2Day Campaign and have attached a link below to a YouTube video in which employers and employees talk about mental health in the workplace. This was a campaign run by Dorset Mind in 2018 targeting mental health in the workplace and it still has relevance today. The video is a powerful reminder to speak up about mental health.
#Day2Day Campaign https://youtu.be/_ToBfrOXrUs
If you need further convincing after watching the video above, then consider the following points:
Mental ill health is very common - the Government's Department of Health advises that one in four of us will experience it at some point in our lives
Staff with positive mental health are more likely to work productively, interact well with colleagues and adapt to changes in the workplace
Staff supported by their employer are more likely to be able to stay in work or return to work after a period of absence, reducing long-term absences in the organisation
If mental ill health is not treated, the pressures of it can cause other 'secondary symptoms'. For example, the strain of coping with depression may cause someone to become dependent on alcohol or drugs.
#TimetoChange is a growing social movement to change the way we think about mental health. They are also on Facebook, Twitter, YouTube & Instagram. I have attached a link below for you to easily access their website. There is also a section on bringing change in the workplace.
https://www.time-to-change.org.uk/
Finally, if you take one thing away from this newsletter and the linked resources, please remember you are not alone and there is always someone you can talk to. As an Apprentice please feel you can contact myself at LSP, speak with your line manager and/or HR representative and/or reach out to external agencies such as MIND, Samaritans & Able Futures.
