Sandra Patel
26th July 2019
Article by Jessica Spencer, Recruitment Consultant
https://www.linkedin.com/in/jessicaspencertransitionpartners/
Why every office needs a MENTAL HEALTH FIRST AIDER.
At Transition Partners we are lucky enough to work in an environment where both our physical and mental health are a focus.
Last week I volunteered myself to attend an Adult Mental Health Awareness Course in Manchester with St John Ambulance and MHFA England. As a business we agreed that it was important to have someone in the office who people felt comfortable with to share problems, someone to talk too openly and without judgement and someone who can recognise the signs of stress and fatigue.
The first question we got asked was “what is mental health?”
“Mental health influences how we think and feel about ourselves and others and how we interpret events. It affects our capacity to learn, to communicate, and to form, sustain and end relationships. It also influences our ability to cope with change, transition and life events: for example having a baby, moving house or experience bereavement. “
This is definitely an important thing to think about as I believe there is still a stigma around the word mental health and what it means to different people. Whenever most people hear these two words I do still think without realising we subconsciously approach mental health in a different light in comparison to physical illness and we are still afraid to discuss head on. In our office we are keen to make this a more open topic of discussion. We want everyone to be open about the state of their mental health and how they deal with day to day struggles and stresses. If someone needs help we want them to now know they have someone to reach out to.
One of the main things I learnt on the course was that the most common thing that can effect someone’s mental health is stress levels. Working in recruitment one of the main things people will associate with it is STRESS. This can be down to performance, a high work load, lost deals, drop outs or missed opportunities. As a business it is a priority in the office that stress levels are managed and if anyone is feeling overwhelmed they have a safe space to share this and help manage it. As cheesy as it sounds a problem shared really is a problem halved.
I have taken it upon myself with the full support of the Directors at Transition partners to implement a new Talk for 10 Policy.
Every Friday I am going to make sure I take the time to have a chat with everyone in the office about how they have found the week. Whether they need to rant, share success, relationship problems or just talk about the latest episode of Love Island – I want to make sure everyone feels that if they have something to get off their chest they can and will most definitely not be judged for it. Feelings are a thing that cannot be controlled the more that people understand and accept this the more likely they are to open up or at least know that if they want to they will be listened too.
One of the things that hit home on my course was that not everyone finds it easy to talk and share their feelings therefore it’s not always as easy to recognise signs if someone needs help. In fact more often than not the people that need help the most will be the best at covering it up – especially in a work environment.
It’s not easy to talk because more often than not life and especially work gets in the way whether we like it not. 1 out of 2 of us keep worries and concerns to ourselves in the fear of being ridiculed or treated differently. However sometimes just a quick 10 minute chat with a good cuppa and some custard creams can really help us get the bottom of things or help someone start to open up.
It is a known and recognised fact that men do find it harder to open up about the way they feel. To put things into perspective the biggest killer for males under 45 in the UK is suicide, I want to try and make a bigger impact and difference around men’s mental health and try and explore what different ways and in what scenarios they would feel more comfortable speaking to someone.
The Talk for 10 is a new thing we are rolling out in the office and I really do hope we can make a difference to everyone within our organisation as our mental and physical health come before anything! If we continue to encourage everyone to take care of themselves we can continue making Transition Partners a great place to be!
Whether you’re in recruitment or not, I’d love to hear what your current employer does for mental health awareness. Please feel free to contact me directly or comment below if you have any ideas or things that have worked in your business that you think we could give a go to continue looking after each other!
If you or anyone you know are effected by any mental health issues or just want an impartial person to speak to please see below links to websites and organisation that can help!
https://www.nhs.uk/conditions/stress-anxiety-depression/mental-health-helplines/
https://www.menshealthforum.org.uk