The impact of the Pandemic has had a hugely detrimental effect on the mental health of millions of people worldwide, making it a more commonly discussed topic in board rooms across the country. When businesses re-opened and began to trade again, the focus on monitoring mental health and supporting our people, stayed high on the agenda, and rightly so!
Mental health problems are all too common and it is the leading cause of sickness absence. 70 million workdays are lost each year due to mental health problems in the UK, costing employers approximately £2.4 billion per year. The World Federation for Mental Health has set this year’s theme of Mental Health in an Unequal World, calling for greater access to mental health services for all.
At ECC, we believed we could do much more to support our teams in this area, so decided to explore ways we could become a stronger force for good. We discovered a Mental Health First Aid course delivered by MHFA England, and quickly got Hannah (our People & Development exec) enrolled. The course teaches you how to be the first responder for those suffering from any mental health related issues ranging from anxiety through to psychotic breaks, how to spot symptoms, and how to direct people towards the right support.
We then offered the same opportunity to all team members responsible for the development or management of people within the business, and 9 force for good crusaders raised their hands, who have since become qualified mental health first aiders. This has resulted in every employee having access to at least 1 MHFA representative at almost every site, as well as within support office.
It’s essential for our growth and success that we enable open, authentic conversations about mental health at work, both individually and on a strategic level. This is more important than ever as we recover from the impact of the pandemic. Although we are only at the beginning of our campaign and have lots more in the pipeline to ensure we are doing the right thing by our people, the communities in which we operate, and the guests we welcome to our venues. Check out our Force For Good page here to find out more.