APRIL IS STRESS AWARENESS MONTH SO IT’S THE PERFECT TIME TO ANNOUNCE THAT LANDMARC HAS SIGNED THE MENTAL HEALTH AT WORK COMMITMENT, CURATED BY MENTAL HEALTH CHARITY MIND, DEMONSTRATING OUR AMBITION TO DEVELOP A WORKPLACE ENVIRONMENT AND CULTURE WHERE ALL EMPLOYEES CAN THRIVE.
By signing the Mental Health at Work Commitment, we have committed to achieving better mental health outcomes and a genuine longer-term positive impact on employee wellbeing, joining a growing movement of over 1,000 from a wide range of organisations including Avon Cosmetics, B&Q, Barclays Bank, BT, Bupa UK, Deloitte UK, Hewlett Packard Enterprise, Historic England, Marks and Spencer, Pets at Home, Santander UK, Save the Children UK and many more.
Developed with the knowledge and expertise of mental health charities, leading employers and trade organisations, the Mental Health at Work Commitment provides a simple framework for employers who recognise the importance of promoting employee wellbeing. This framework sets out six clear standards based on what best practice has shown is needed to make a difference and better equip employers to create an environment where employees can thrive. These are:
- Prioritising mental health in the workplace
- Creating a culture that drives positive mental health outcomes
- Promoting an open culture about mental health
- Increasing our confidence and capability to be able to deal with mental health issues
- Providing mental health tools and support
- Increasing transparency and accountability through internal and external reporting
Kirsty Pearce, Landmarc’s Corporate Services Director says:
“Mental health is so important and over the past couple of years I have been pleased to witness the increased communication and training that Landmarc provides to its employees on the topic. I am delighted that Landmarc has signed up to the mental health pledge and am so excited to be the director leading on the implementation of our action plan to implement the six standards detailed above. I will be encouraging each and every one of us to take the time to take care of ourselves and work together to achieve the standards to help build a happier and healthier workplace.”
Andrew Berrie, Mental Health at Work National Lead said:
“We’re delighted to see Landmarc sign the Mental Health at Work Commitment. By embedding our six standards in the way they operate, Landmarc is demonstrating a real commitment to supporting the mental health of those in their workplace.
“We know it can be hard to talk about mental health and seek support, which is why public commitments such as this one are so important. With issues like stress, anxiety and depression common across all employers, regardless of size or sector, we want to see every employer recognise and address any work related causes of poor mental health among their staff and it’s fantastic to see organisations like Landmarc taking the lead.”
In a survey of UK adults conducted by Business in the Community in partnership with Bupa in 2020, only one in two (51%) of employees say they feel comfortable talking about mental health in the workplace, whilst two in five (39%) report they have experienced a work-related mental health issue in the last year.
The cost of poor mental health to UK employers has been estimated to be between £42 billion and £45 billion, according to the Mental Health and Employers Report published in 2020 by Deloitte and investment in workplace support and interventions remains a key issue.
Andrew added:
“Many leading employers have found that making a strategic commitment to the mental wellbeing of their workforce not only benefits their staff but also their bottom-line, improving productivity and staff retention. With one in six British workers experiencing mental illness it’s time for businesses to make a change and start creating more mentally healthy workplaces.”