October 10th is World Mental Health Day – a globally recognised date in the calendar to raise awareness about mental health and to promote efforts toward mental health education, advocacy, and support.
Why mental health at work matters
Each year, the Mental Health Foundation celebrates campaigns on the day to focus attention on specific aspects of mental well-being. This year’s theme, set by the World Federation of Mental Health is Workplace Mental Health. The theme highlights the importance of addressing mental health and wellbeing in the workplace, for the benefit of people, organisations, and communities. And mental health at work is a theme that is especially important to us as it aligns with the very purpose of our organisation - to help people have a better day at work.
An individual’s mental health is a key factor in their personal and professional development and well-being. It can impact performance, career development, working relationships and so over the years we have worked with our expert trainers to build a roster of courses that help our delegates understand and manage mental well-being at work every day.
We’ve also worked hard to build courses that aim to help managers and leaders understand the challenges that their teams face and equip them with the tools they need to provide a supportive environment, helping everyone’s voice be heard and understood.
Supporting your mental health in the workplace
As part of our values to help individuals and organisations Learn, Inspire and Thrive we have developed a range of Personal Impact and Effectiveness courses that are designed to help businesses and their course delegates to grow their resilience, identify and manage challenges and better understand some of the issues that are known to impact mental health at work.
Many of our trainers have a background in mental health work and behavioural sciences, and although our courses do not constitute medical advice or counselling, what they are, however, are well-researched findings from qualified professionals based on years of real-life experience. Over the years we have looked at some of the biggest challenges people face at work and worked hard to design courses that have provided useful, practical solutions to the problems we can face every day.
Courses like Assertiveness at Work have helped delegates overcome challenges of confidence and self-awareness, enabling them to become better communicators and have a more balanced work life. Building your Resilience at Work has helped to give people the ability to cope well with pressure – that resilience is a skill you can learn. With the right tools, techniques and mindset you can learn to thrive, and grow from mistakes and setbacks. More recently, we have developed How to Keep Stress Useful. This course helps delegates understand and empower what the WHO refers to as a ‘21st century epidemic’: stress. It also highlights how the working landscape is constantly changing, and that the problems of performance and our ability to manage it is something that is always in flux.
Mental Health Awareness Courses for Managers and Leaders
Along with our range of courses that are designed to help individuals at work, we have courses for managers and leaders that help them understand the challenges and pressures their teams are experiencing and how to develop positive mental wellbeing environments in the workplace.
Courses such as Mental Health Awareness Training for Managers help leaders understand the mental health challenges that their teams might be experiencing. It enables managers to become informed, less judgemental, more approachable and ultimately more supportive. Managing Performance Conflict, Bullying and Harassment helps leaders properly deal with especially damaging cultures at work, and also enables them to realise their impact on work culture and their responsibility as leaders. Emotional Intelligence at Work explores a critical skill in the modern workplace: the ability to understand and manage our emotions, as well as recognise and influence the emotions of those around us.
The truth is, World Mental Health Day is not just about one day. It’s about recognising issues that are around all of us every day, even though sometimes we can’t see them happening. It helps bring that recognition to the surface, open up positive conversations and encourages people to educate themselves and act for positive change.
This year’s theme of Mental Health at Work resonates loudly with us, as it’s at the very core of our purpose, to help people have a better day at work. Through the courses we provide we hope to be a part of positive change for everyone at work, every day. You can find out more about our range of courses designed to give people practical skills for positive changes here.