As part of our Mental Health Awareness Week campaign, we had a chat with Claire Bennett about the importance of Mental Wellbeing in the workplace. 

Claire talks about the myth around the assumption that mental health being just about ‘poor’ mental health, the cost to organisations with regards to mental health, how presenteeism is a huge issue with regards to productivity, and how to spot this quickly and try to understand what is happening with individuals.

Claire also talks in depth about how organisations can support their line managers with regards to the initial recruitment process, training and equipping them with the skills to have emotive discussions with their teams, and how to make the workplace a healthy environment in terms of mental health, making small changes for a big impact, and the need for ‘safe spaces’.

We hear about the four pillars, how it isn’t just about policies and a piece of paper on the wall – it has to be a living and breathing element in the workplace, and how it has to start ‘at the top’, not just with HR. She also brings to our attention the legal obligations which can be overlooked by organisations and how employees can help to manage and look after their own mental health with support both inside and outside of the organisation they work for.

Claire also talks about the link with physical health and the ‘health triangle’, how these impact our self esteem and how we should be looking after all three.