We have mental health for 365 days of the year!
Rob Stephenson? ??
International Keynote Speaker | TEDx Speaker ?? | Mental Health Campaigner | Facilitator | Founder of FormScore ? | Founder of the InsideOut LeaderBoard ?
What a week!
World Mental Health Day.
The inaugural Global Ministerial Mental Health Summit
Signing of the groundbreaking Mindful Business Charter
The BITC published the 3rd Annual Survey of Mental Health at Work
A great number of organisations signing the Time to Change Pledge
The MadWorld Forum,
I could go on. In fact, I will… I have delivered a number of keynote talks and been on some very interesting panels. I have had discussions about the challenges of the ‘always on’ culture in events promotion with AEG. I have also listened to some very interesting people speak from Sir Ian Cheshire to young entrepreneur, Jack Parsons.. to Prof. Sir Cary Cooper and a very emotive story from MQ Ambassador Flo Sharma at the Coutts mental health event and many many more..
I have learned about the fantastic “Take2” initiative at Ciero consulting, where employees can take 2 hours per week to do something to look after their wellbeing in work time. I have heard about the inspiring work of the Movember Foundation and what they are doing for mens mental health.
I have also seen the amazing post from Karl Simons of Thames Water on their innovation. I have looked at the Soma Analytics report show that FTSE 100’s are talking more about both “mental health” and “wellbeing” in their annual reports.
Finally, I have been touched by a post at Kilburn Tube Station, shared by my very good friend and business partner, Christian Outhred, in Melbourne about Eeyore.
I could say more.
What. A. Week! It has all been brilliant. Absolutely brilliant.
So what next?
What about the other 364 days? Are we going to wait “Time To Talk Day in February” before we next do something to look after our employees’ mental health. Or maybe “Mental Health Awareness Week” in May. Really?
At least “International Stress Awareness Week” founded by the amazing Carole Spiers is closer (5-9 November)
Mental/Dental Hygiene
We all have mental health and we need to be looking after it every day of the year. Imagine if we treated our dental health in the same way. We undertake some ferocious and vigorous tooth brushing on the 10th of October.
"That should keep us going until May when we get to brush them for a whole week"
We then go back to eating lots of sugar, safe in the knowledge that we have a week in May where we can sort them out again. Seriously? Out teeth would fall out..
We take more care of our teeth (on the whole) than we do our minds.. Is it really a surprise that it feels like our heads are falling off.
Individual Accountability
I have heard a lot about individual accountability too this week. We all need to be taking better care of ourselves and there are some quick wins for us all (better sleep hygiene, regular breaks in your day to recover from stress, improving our relationship with technology and making the time to connect with other humans.. )
I could go on again..
Employer Responsibility
I have heard a lot about this too. However, as employers you have a responsibility for keeping the debate going between now and Mental Health Awareness Week. This is because there is still so much work still to do.
So how are you going to use some of the amazing things that have come out of World Mental Health Day and the rest of the week to do this? How are you going to keep the debate going? How are you going to get this issue into the boardroom? How are you going to bring middle management along on the journey? How are you going to let people know that it is ok to seek help with a mental health issue when they need to? How are you going to convince everybody in your workforce that we all have mental health?
I am keen to hear about this in the comments. Seriously. As we have mental health #AllYearRound
Here’s what I am going to do?
- Remain an advocate for creating mentally healthier workplaces ??
- Get my InsideOut List of senior leader role models published in March 2019 ??
- Bring my MindCycle Initiative to as many workplaces who will have me to attract a broader range of employees than those who may have experienced all of the great events this week ???♀???
- Collaborate with as many people doing good in the space as I can ??
- Help businesses keep the debate going by delivering my Keynote and other events ????
- Keep thinking of new ideas ??
- Keep filling up your LinkedIn feeds ??
What about you?
Let me know…
#AllYearRound
Breakthrough with Gabrielle #makingtherapycool Pioneering and developing mental fitness and well-being in the workplace.
6 年I would love to distinguish the difference between Hr and some one who works with the mental and emotional health of the people this is world apart hr is trained in to mostly looking at the regulations first then the people the other is trained in how to make a real difference in that persons life and at work this is a very specialist training which can take up to 7 years and more when you see the difference in the two areas you will completely understand hopefully as we open up this conversion for companies and make it very clear it will make a 100%difference to the result you are going to make with in your company ??
Coaching stress, risk, time, money & results; mentoring skilled professionals; passionate about education & mental health
6 年It has been helpful. ALF have had an increase in requests for help and support. Raising awareness and demystifying is essential to leading purposeful and mutually co-operative lives.
Founder & CEO @ Reddi | The MatchMaking Dating App | MatchMaker | Executive Confidante | Coach | Award Winning Mental Health Practitioner | Educator of the Human Condition
6 年World mental health day just allows us to highlight how far we’ve come, but also how far we have to go. Like mothers or father day, a day to appreciate mental health of all. What did particularly concern me this WMHD is all the conversations which were labelled mental health but they were really talking about mental ill health. Proud to call you a colleague and to be part of supporting you with some of those goals.
I don’t tend to focus on the MH aspects when I do my digital consulting gigs, mainly because it’s an area I know less about. However, there is an inescapable truth that many physical chronic conditions cause deterioration in a person’s MH, and I would guess the reverse holds true as well. Because of this multi-factored presentation of patient outcomes, we have to be more holistic when we seek to support people through any health or wellbeing issue. In my view, all physical chronic care assessments should have a meaningful focus on MH implications, and vice versa. A more encompassing approach is needed.?
Chief People Officer I Human Capital I Regeneration. Aligning co-worker citizenship & company purpose for inclusive business results.
6 年Great article Rob and good to see you at #Madworld2018. Conversations are the lifeblood of organisations and a 21st century skill for all. See you on Wednesday at #MindsatWork