{"id":131,"date":"2018-04-11T11:33:54","date_gmt":"2018-04-11T10:33:54","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/uogequality.wordpress.com\/?p=131"},"modified":"2024-05-15T08:03:36","modified_gmt":"2024-05-15T08:03:36","slug":"mental-health-matters","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/sites.glos.ac.uk\/equity\/2018\/04\/11\/mental-health-matters\/","title":{"rendered":"Mental Health Matters"},"content":{"rendered":"

Hello!<\/p>\n

As\u00a0part of my role as Equality and Diversity Intern\u00a0I was given the chance to get involved with the Workplace Wellbeing Charter. The University is working hard to create a more inclusive environment, and the Charter contributes towards achieving this.\u00a0This Charter provides employers with a helpful structure to plan improvements to support health and wellbeing at work, and\u00a0to have their progress assessed against a national standard, demonstrating their commitment to the wellbeing of their staff.\u00a0 The University was assessed last year, and achieved the Charter mark award to Commitment.\u00a0 We will be re-assessed in two years, and are looking to achieve the next level up across all categories.<\/p>\n

\"The<\/p>\n

The requirements to achieve the next level up on Mental Health will not be easy, as the standards set are quite challenging.<\/p>\n

As you can probably imagine, that\u2019s a lot of work to do, and the research I\u2019m doing is one of many actions. My role has been to look into recent government guidance around mental health in the workplace, and compile recommendations from them. So, with a focus on mental health and wellbeing in the workplace, here are a few things I found along the way\u2026<\/p>\n

Mental Illness is common.<\/strong><\/p>\n

Mental illness is common and affects more people than we might think. 1 in 4 people experience mental ill health at some point in their lives (ACAS. Promoting positive mental health in the workplace. October 2017). This means that the number of people in the workforce at any one time who are experiencing poor mental health\u00a0could be significant. Positive support is likely to have a big impact on helping people to remain productive at work.<\/p>\n

Measures to improve wellbeing are cost effective.<\/strong><\/p>\n

On the face of it, it sounds like intervening in the workplace to improve the way mental wellbeing is addressed should cost money\u2026 and you\u2019re right, it does. However, in the long run it\u2019s likely to save money. A number of companies have been devoting budgets to the improvement of staff wellbeing and seeing brilliant results.<\/p>\n

Communication is key.<\/strong><\/p>\n

It may seem pretty obvious, but bear with me. There\u2019s a lot more to this than it seems. Communication between staff and managers needs to be strong to ensure that:<\/p>\n