World Mental Health Day 2024: It’s time to prioritise mental health in the workplace

Of course World Mental Health Day and Mental Health Awareness Week (in May each year) are brilliant reminders to everyone and an opportunity to really put deserved attention and bring awareness to this important topic but we want to be sure we are continuing that throughout the year. This years World Mental Health Day theme is "It's time to prioritise mental health in the workplace."

Supporting both physical and mental health within GEOLYTIX has always been important. In 2021 we were delighted to be able to offer Mental Health First Aid training to our colleagues for the first time, and since then others have taken up the opportunity to become qualified to join the MHFA group. It's not enough to tick the training box, it's about living those values every day and ensure it runs through the culture of companies. All our Mental Health First Aiders have embraced their role in raising awareness of mental illnesses and reducing the stigma associated with them.

We hear from the MHFA team at GEOLYTIX to hear why they wanted to become qualified and how they ensure that as a company we look to address this incredibly important topic not just today but everyday.

Meet the MHFA team

Becca

"I wanted to join the mental health first aider team at Geolytix to be an extra point of contact that is available to listen, offer support or information and encourage getting appropriate professional help if needed. The skills I gained through the MHFA training are invaluable both inside and outside of work. With 1 in 4 people in England experiencing poor mental health, it's so important to have people around to offer understanding and support, especially in a workplace where you spend so much of your time.

I think it's important to promote mental health awareness at work as it helps build a more inclusive environment where people feel valued not just for their work, but as individuals too. We're very lucky at Geolytix in that employee well-being is a priority and having a MHFA team at hand is one of the great ways to do that!"

Josh

"I've been involved in speaking about mental health since university, because both there and in the workplace it's important to have people available to talk to who are more familiar with your situation, on top of existing mental health resources. There's a lot of stigma in particular about men's mental health, as they are reportedly far less likely to communicate their feelings or make use of traditional therapy.

A workplace having visible Mental Health First Aiders available helps to help reduce that stigma, and encourages employees to reach out and speak about how they might be feeling, whether that's to us or someone else in their life."

Catherine

"We spend so much of our time in the workplace that having someone around with a "physical" first aid or first response qualification has become a no-brainer and I believe mental health first aid should be treated the same way. Just like poor physical health, poor mental health isn't something that we can leave at home or switch off at the office door, and sometimes we can't help it affecting our work.

I'm really happy to work in a company that understands this, and facilitates the training of Mental Health First Aiders so that if anyone at Geolytix is experiencing poor mental health, they know they have colleagues who will listen non-judgmentally and can point them to further resources if needed. I completed the MHFA training to more effectively contribute to fostering this culture at Geolytix as I passionately believe there should be no stigma around mental health, but also so that I could be more informed on the best ways to support my colleagues."

Donna

"Mental health to me is so important. In life, personally & professionally but I think it has been something that many working environments haven’t had much focus on.

Mental health in the workplace is ridiculously important. Work life can place a lot of stress on people with heavy workloads and deadlines, it can send people into a downward spiral particularly if there are things outside the workplace going on too. It can become overwhelming.

When I asked to participate in becoming a mental health first aider, it was met with enthusiasm.

It was more important for me as I had struggled with my own mental health disorder and I had made a lot of progress in dealing with how I coped with it. If I could gain some professional knowledge and use my own experiences to assist others who may be struggling I was aware of what an amazing impact this could have on how others combatted it.

As a company Geolytix have actively supported and encouraged myself and all the MHFA’s and they have put in some really important measures to make sure that their employees know that they are supported.

Because of this, Geolytix has enabled me and other employees to have a safe space to speak about any issues and talk openly about their concerns. It makes an incredible difference and can really change how you conduct yourself day to day. Times are changing, life seems more challenging to lots of people. It is imperative that we actively encourage people to come forward and feel comfortable speaking about these. Not necessarily to provide a solution but even to give people a space to voice their opinions and feelings without judgement.

Being a MHFA is an honour and I will continue to encourage promoting the importance of prioritising mental health in the workplace."

Wensi

"Mental health can sometimes be put at the backseat. Everyone can be affected by it knowingly or not. It is equally important as the physical health.

Work space is a key environment to talk about mental health since for most of us, a large chuck of our waking hours are spent at the work. Being a mental health first aider means that I have a good understanding of it and I am properly trained to not only help myself and others to be able to deal with it when needed."

Imogen

"Focus on good health has typically been around physical wellbeing - but what about good mental health? It is only in more recent years that mental health has started to become less of a taboo subject and more talked about, but in my view there is still a very long way to go.

Just earlier this year, it was reported that there have been huge increases in the number of people taking time off work as a result of poor mental health, with Mental Health UK highlighting the risk of a "burnt out-nation". There are at present more than 1.8 million people on waitlists for mental health treatment and services in the UK - really, the fact is that we are in the midst of a mental health crisis.

Having witnessed first-hand the struggles of poor mental health, whether connected to work or otherwise, I want to try and make a difference and raise awareness in any way I can, to support colleagues, family and friends with both their mental and physical wellbeing.

Being a mental health first aider has provided me with the education and additional skills to be able to listen and support others in an effective and non-judgmental way. I am very lucky to work for a company where good mental health is continually supported and promoted - so many others are not so fortunate."

Thank you Rebecca Mellor, Josh Reynolds, Catherine Duffy, Donna Kirton, Wensi Kirkham and Imogen Francis from everyone at GEOLYTIX.

You can have the best team in place but it also needs to be supported from every level in a company so we asked CEO, Blair Freebairn about his thoughts on this topic:

"Good work is so important to people's meaning and so their mental wellness. People also work to support loved ones and the workplace can help nurture and grow entire communities. I am not a fan of the phrase 'work-life balance', it sets work up in opposition to life, as if by working you are trading off your living. This is nonsense, you need good work to live well, and you need a good life to work your best. As CEO of Geolytix I cannot know the squalls or storms the team are dealing with, but I can make sure they all know they are valued and have purpose here, and if there are practical things we can do to calm the weather we do them well."

Photo by Dan Meyers on Unsplash