Mental Health Awareness
Mental health is an integral part of who we are, how we feel about things, like our jobs and our relationships, how well we perform and how we interact with people including family, general acquaintances, colleagues and customers. National statistics show that 1 in 6 employees are currently experiencing mental health problems, making mental health a high priority for employers.
For many of us, work is a major part of our lives. It is where we spend much of our time, where we get our income and often where we make our friends. Having a fulfilling job can be good for your mental health and general wellbeing. We all have times however when life seems to get on top of us –sometimes that’s work-related, like deadlines or excess travel, sometimes it’s something else – our health, our relationships, or our circumstances. We all have mental health – it moves along a spectrum from good to poor and it’s affected by a range of factors both in and outside of work.
As an employer we take mental health seriously, and have a range of resources available to support you and your colleagues:
- Mental Health and Wellbeing Guide
- Employee Mental Health Guide
- Mental Health Awareness Training
- Health And Work Policy
- Employee Assistance Programme – Time for Talking, a 24/7 support service (0800 970 3980)
To further demonstrate our commitment to mental health in the workplace, we are encouraging you all to take part in Mental Health Awareness Week. This doesn’t need to be anything big or time consuming, for instance you could:
- Take 5 mins out at the end of a meeting this week to talk about mental health, or perhaps
- Get together with a friend for a coffee and chat.
Both of these are great ways to improve mental wellbeing and raise awareness!
Other resources include:
- Wellbeing festivals in Aberdeenshire, these range from conversation cafes to yoga and relaxation.
- See Me Scotland: Scotland’s campaign to overcome stigma about mental illness
- Scottish Association for Mental Health
- MIND: a well-established national (UK) charity and authority in the field of Mental Health
