Insights: Top 10 Wellbeing Recommendations

October 10th is #WorldMentalHealthDay, and to mark this important date, we invited all of our LGBT Great members to come together and discuss how the investment & savings industry can support better wellbeing for all employees.

Following this, we have developed the #Top10 recommendations for the industry; actions that every firm can take to create a more inclusive environment that empowers employees to have better wellbeing.

Angus Jacobs, Coach & Talent Consultant at Man Group, said:

“Mental wellbeing in the workplace is so important to employees achieving their full potential. We recognise that mental health and wellbeing affects each and every one of us in many different ways and we are proud to bring together people from all identities to foster a collaborative approach to the agenda. I am honoured to have contributed to LGBT Great’s Top 10 industry recommendations and I hope that these will help ignite more conversation across our industry”.

Every organisation is at a different stage with regards to inclusion, but these recommendations are designed to be clear, concise, and actionable. We hope that there is something in the list below that everyone can take away and learn from:

Move beyond HR. Educate the whole business on the broad spectrum of mental wellbeing.

• Create a cross-company steering group for mental health across all diversities.
• Mental health is a very broad term that can mean different things to different people. This can make accessing mental wellbeing support and asking for help intimidating. 
• Incorporate training and learning opportunities for employees across the business and encourage a culture of conversation.

Help C-suite and senior leaders to advocate for mental wellbeing.

• Get your CEO and senior leaders on-board and spotlight personal stories.
• It is vital that leaders are visible in their support for others.
• Turn vulnerability into a strength as opposed to a weakness.
• Visibility through video communication from business leaders can be hugely beneficial in creating a story and amplifying a message.

Empower employees to become visible role models for mental health.

• Employees need to be given the time and space to engage with mental health initiatives. This trust will also make them more likely to engage.
• Find different ways for employees to support initiatives, whether it is through training as a mental health first aider, becoming a role model within the business, or something else.

Mental health awareness into campaigns to present a unified message.

• Make sure that the business is making public statements of support for better employee wellbeing – this will help employees and customers to feel that the company is taking it seriously.
• Work with partners to highlight the good things that you are doing as a business. Campaigns are a great opportunity to highlight exceptional work and effort to help, inspire and motivate others.

Devise ways for employees who do not want to speak publicly to contribute.

• Not everyone will want to take part in videos or put their story out publicly. 
• Make sure there is space behind the scenes of campaigns for employees to contribute, such as writing blog posts or sharing resources and information, so that they can help without being personally visible.

Build support from all identifies across the firm. Different groups face different challenges.

• Mental health can affect anyone, regardless of identity. It is important to recognise that there can be unique challenges around mental wellbeing for people from minority backgrounds, such as LGBT+ or ethnic minorities for example.
• By empowering advocates and role models from within, employees will feel more comfortable discussing their own challenges.

Create trust by providing spaces for people to share stories.

• Show employees that their contributions will be handled sensitively and respectfully.
• Recognise that different people will want to share their stories in different ways and give them the space to engage how they wish.

Recognise mental wellbeing through all employee resource groups (ERGs).

• Employee Resource Groups can be a brilliant way to engage with wider employee groups, particularly those from minority backgrounds.
• By ensuring mental wellbeing is on the agendas of these groups, or by having an ERG specifically focused on wellbeing, you will naturally identify advocates and role models, and gather greater knowledge on the topic.

Identify times in the business where stress could be higher.

• By bringing mental health into your everyday thoughts, it will be simple to identify times that might be particularly stressful for employees.
• These can include redundancies or organisational changes, but any significant change in the business can be a stressful time for employees.
• Putting safeguards in place and checking in with employees around these times will prove that you are an inclusive and caring employer, and help to secure better wellbeing for all employees.

Identify those people in your business that are already trusted and empower them to encourage others to follow their lead.

• There are those within any organisation that will naturally support people with problems and challenges.
• They might be people with structured roles within the business, such as HR or talent management, or they might be people that naturally fulfil that social role.
• Identify what is it that they do and teach others to do the same.
• By identifying these individuals and upskilling them as mental health advocates they will be able to support employees with ease and provide valuable knowledge.

For more information on how LGBT Great can support your business to create a more inclusive culture, please get in touch with me: [email protected]