First Central's managing mental health.
Mental Health Awareness Week (MHAW) is a great opportunity to bring people in the UK together every year to highlight the importance of good mental health. Not just for some, for everyone. First held in 2001, it’s grown hugely and is now the biggest annual mental health campaign in the world.
First Central’s 100% behind it. Our colleagues’ Wellbeing inside and outside the office is fundamental. We’re a collaborative bunch and are passionate about protecting everyone’s mental and physical health. It’s crucial. We care about our teams, we support them, we put people first. Always. We were so pleased our efforts were recognised this year by the global authority on workplace culture, Great Place to Work®. We ranked 7th for Wellbeing.
The Mental Health Awareness Week campaign’s theme during May 15th - 21st this year was anxiety, an emotion few of us, if any, would claim never to have experienced. Many things can trigger feelings of worry or uncertainty about the future: money fears, work stress, relationship problems, housing issues. It’s normal. But, anxiety can get out of control and become unmanageable. Then it’s a mental health problem.
According to the Champion Health 2023 Workplace Wellbeing Report,
We make sure people know they’re not alone. We give them the information and resources they need to understand mental health and to look after themselves if they’re feeling troubled.
Managers are in a privileged position; they work closely with the people who report to them and can often spot changes in behaviour or mood before anyone else. That’s why our big Mental Health Week news this year is that we’re rolling out mandatory Mental Health training for our line managers, including our executive team. It’ll be face to face and the program’s been designed specifically for us so it’s super relevant.
It’s no secret that managers have a big impact on our lives as well as our work; we spend so much of our time doing our jobs that having a great line manager really can make a positive difference. On the flip side, having a bad experience with a line manager is stressful and can significantly affect our Wellbeing negatively.
In a recent IOSH (Institute of Health & Safety) survey, 57% of respondents said their organisation doesn’t offer any mental health or Wellbeing training or support for managers. Most of those that do (79%) offer optional courses with just 22% making training compulsory.
We didn’t think that was good enough. Our people deserve more. If we can inspire colleagues to have mental health conversations before people reach 'crisis,' we can better support everyone. So that’s what we’re doing.
We also helped colleagues this MHAW by sharing some practical tips about managing anxious feelings in a healthy way. Good sleep, diet, exercise and connecting with others may seem difficult when our heads are whirring with worries but they do strengthen mental resilience as well as boosting our energy.
There are tons of places First Central’s people can turn to for support and we reminded everyone where they’ll find a helping hand (or ear…) Our Employee Assistance Programme (EAP) gives 24/7 support on demand. It’s just a phone call or WhatsApp message away. You’ve heard of first aiders, right? We’ve trained a friendly team of almost 50 people throughout the company to be Mental Health First Aiders; they help colleagues who might be feeling out of sorts with their feelings. There’s more! An interest-free fitness loan up to £1,000 to boost exercise regimes, money off everyday goods like clothes through Perkbox and heaps of information to dive into on our intranet’s Wellbeing Hub. And that’s just some of the facilities our colleagues can access. We nurture our people’s mental health so they’re the best versions of themselves. We’re in it together.
