Glendale Shows Support for Mental Health Awareness Day

Today is Mental Health Awareness Day and Glendale is happy to be getting involved to show support for this extremely important issue.

Mental health is a growing concern with as many as one in four people likely to experience a mental health disorder each year which impacts their ability to work.

The stigma attached to mental health is one of the biggest factors affecting an individual’s ability to cope in the workplace, with employees sometimes feeling they cannot talk about the subject, that they won’t be supported, or may be seen differently by their peers.

To tackle this issue, we have introduced ‘Mental Health Awareness in the Workplace’ workshops for all team members across the business. These sessions will help us to get a better understanding of mental health issues in the workplace and what can be done by the company, line managers, peers and individuals to manage them.

The workshops have been taking place this week in the run up to World Mental Health Day. We have covered communication and listening skills that will enable management to have conversations with their employees whenever needed.

We have also discussed what mental health is and the risk factors associated with it, common signs and symptoms to watch out for and how employees can work together to build a positive mental health culture in the workplace.

In addition to the workshops, all of Glendale’s HR managers have passed qualifications in mental health first aid. This is an internationally recognised and accredited course designed to raise awareness of mental health and forms part of our commitment to supporting individuals in the team that are facing challenges with mental wellbeing.

We are aiming to change the stigma that surrounds mental health by proactively supporting the move towards building a positive mental health culture across the business.

We will be taking the following steps to help improve mental wellbeing in the workplace:

Support will be available from all levels of management, including senior members.

Every team member will receive regular engagement with their managers.

We will train and educate our managers with the skills to support anyone within the team struggling with mental health wellbeing.

As a company, we will raise awareness and work towards breaking the stigma of mental health so that we can all talk openly about our problems.

Sue McGrath, HR director for Glendale, said: “Initiatives like World Mental Health Day are a great way of raising awareness of the subject and help to engage with employees and employers in highlighting the importance of recognising mental health in the workplace.

“It’s a growing issue and we are working hard to create an approachable and trustworthy environment where any employee is not afraid to speak up about an issue, big or small; the workshops are our first major step towards achieving this and by upskilling our HR team we’re able to provide greater central support across our sites.”