[24.04.17]
Mental Health Awareness Week is 8th – 14th May. This year the theme is ‘Surviving or Thriving?’ reflecting the fact that good mental health is more than the absence of a mental health problem. This year, rather than ask why so many people are living with mental health problems, the Mental Health Foundation wants people to think about why too few of us are thriving with good mental health.
Mental health issues such as stress, depression and anxiety account for almost 70 million days off sick per year, so Mental Health Awareness Week is a good opportunity to think about the mental health of your staff and how you can encourage open discussion about mental health.
Some suggested activities from the Mental Health Foundation are below, but you may want to come up with your own ideas.
- Lunch and Learn – organise a lunch time session to talk about signs of surviving and signs of thriving. You could provide lunch and ask colleagues to make a donation.
- Office Secret Santa – OK it’s not Christmas, but who says you can’t spread a little love all year round? Draw names of all entrants from a hat at random and set a maximum spending limit. Ask people to make a donation to take part.
- Wellbeing Breakfast – a chance for colleagues to catch up and discuss plans for the week ahead. Bring in cereals, croissants, fresh fruit, sandwiches etc. and allow people to make a small donation for each item.
60% of employees say they’d feel more motivated and more likely to recommend their organisation as a good place to work if their employer took action to support mental health and wellbeing, so it makes sense to get the conversation started in your workplace and make sure everyone feels supported and able to talk about mental health.
Find out more at: https://www.mentalhealth.org.uk/campaigns/mental-health-awareness-week?gclid=CPjaoqDR09ICFSEL0wodqR8Ncw
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