By Emily Spicer<\/p>\n\n\n\n
The theme of this year\u2019s Mental Health Awareness Week is\u00a0‘anxiety’.\u00a0Though a\u00a0normal emotion for most of us,\u00a0it\u00a0can\u00a0lead to a\u00a0very\u00a0real mental\u00a0health issue.\u00a0Promoting honest and open dialogue about mental health has always been a priority for me. I’ve had my own past struggles with issues like anxiety and not feeling there were many avenues to get support.\u00a0I\u2019ve\u00a0since completed a Mental Health First Aider course. I’ve chosen specific wellness and mental health options when completing my CIPD diploma. All this to make sure I can\u00a0provide\u00a0the best possible support.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
I want to promote and implement benefits that provide multiple avenues to support the different areas of mental health. This includes unlimited Paid Time Off (PTO). Allowing the team to rest, recover and restore without worrying about accruing or running out of days.\u00a0\u00a0<\/p>\n\n\n\n
We also offer ‘wellness hours’ and ‘wellness days’. These benefits allow an employee to finish early or start later. This gives them more time in their personal lives or when they need to have an immediate break. These benefits show we recognise how much burnout and workplace stress can affect an employee. We want to ensure they get the work\/life balance they need. We\u2019ve also recently introduced twice-weekly guided meditations on our in-office days. This offers the team a chance to take a (literal) breather. Hopefully getting a fresh perspective on the remainder of the workday too.\u00a0\u00a0<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Post-pandemic, it became apparent we needed to provide a much stronger offering of practical mental health support. This replaced our traditional Employee Assistance Programme (EAP), which had low engagement.\u00a0\u00a0<\/p>\n\n\n\n
That\u2019s where Spill comes in. Spill is an integrated app to Microsoft Teams that allows all our employees immediate access to licensed therapists and resources. Employees can choose the \u201cAsk Anything\u201d chat function to instant message with a therapist. They also have access to set up video calls with Spill\u2019s network of therapists at a time that suits them. Our engagement levels with Spill are 10 times more than the traditional EAP. Plus we\u2019ve received great feedback from the team.\u00a0<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Even though Spill is a fantastic offering, not everyone is comfortable speaking to someone they don\u2019t know. A line manager is often the first point of contact for the employee. Our line managers receive training to help them manage a team member who might be struggling.\u00a0\u00a0<\/p>\n\n\n\n
As we observe this year\u2019s Mental Health Awareness Week in the UK, we will consider the progress we\u2019ve made to make the subject of mental health less taboo in our workplace. We hope that our recent recognition from the Sunday Times as a Best Place to Work is a reflection of our efforts. At the same time, we\u2019ll continue to encourage discussion around the topic. It is important to look for ways to support our colleagues. Not just when they are unwell, but also when they simply need a helping hand and space to talk.\u00a0\u00a0<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Emily Spicer is an HR manager looking after our UK and German offices. With 5 years\u2019 experience, she focuses on championing culture and employee wellbeing, as well as covering all HR generalist initiatives.<\/em>\u00a0<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":" By Emily Spicer The theme of this year\u2019s Mental Health Awareness Week is\u00a0‘anxiety’.\u00a0Though a\u00a0normal emotion for most of us,\u00a0it\u00a0can\u00a0lead to […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":24,"featured_media":3228,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"content-type":"","footnotes":""},"categories":[6],"tags":[39,43],"acf":[],"yoast_head":"\n