I AM listening

It’s mental health awareness week and for the 1st time I can honestly say no other national day or week has held such significance to me. The sudden loss of a good friend of mine due to struggles with mental health, has truly highlighted the severity of the challenge we have as a society when understanding and treating mental health.

Now I recognise I can’t fix the wider societal problem, but not knowing how much a close friend of mine was struggling has really highlighted how important it is to talk.

The importance of this week as had me wrestling with ideas of what I can do both personally and professionally.

As a business owner, I know I must make sure I listen to our staff to ensure that they can come to us with any problem or concern. We hope we are doing this but my message to Will Palgrave-Moore, Jamie Norrington, Craig Cordle, Laura Vatter, Lesley Freeman and Laura Ward is - I AM listening!

As a Business Partner, I must make sure my brilliant colleague Angie Atkinson feels supported and heard.

As part of local business community, I can offer myself to anyone who wants to talk about anything business related (or otherwise). I may not have the answers, but I am happy to share experiences and ideas – I AM listening!

As a recruiter, I truly believe there is a lot more I can offer than just a recruitment service. Work plays a huge part in our mental well-being and the feeling being unhappy in a job can be hugely detrimental to mental health. Unhappiness in a job can come in many forms and moving jobs is not always the solution. Sometimes, it’s just as important to gather your thoughts, gain some understanding of what can be done to help your current situation or quite simply, take back some control. Impartial advice can be crucial to making this possible, for anyone in this situation – I AM listening!

Solutions or answers cannot be promised, but I and the team at Atkinson Moss are available to talk and happy to listen.