Mental health awareness in the workplace is incredibly important to the whole team here at eden PR in Nottingham.

PR agencies are extremely fast-paced, meaning PR professionals and teams can often experience burnout and stress from the pressures of keeping up with daily tasks, client’s requests and staying firmly on the pulse of what’s trending and happening in current affairs.

Good mental health at work and good management go hand in hand, which is why one of our Directors, Emily Winsor-Russell, recently completed a full day’s training as a Mental Health First Responder (MHFR). She’s now our first qualified Mental Health First Responder having passed the assessments required by St John Ambulance to identify, respond to and support staff experiencing mental health problems.

The facts  

• Research studies show that workplaces with high levels of mental health awareness are more likely to have happy, successful and calm staff. According to research carried out by the University of Warwick, addressing wellbeing at work increases productivity levels by up to 12%.
• The Equality Act 2010 encompasses many mental illnesses which can legally be classed as a disability. Organisations have responsibilities to make reasonable adjustments to accommodate the needs of their staff in regards to this Act.
• 882,000 workers suffer from work-related stress, depression or anxiety, outlined in this latest set of Government statistics.

What we do to encourage wellness at work  

It can be hard to make every day a good day in any workplace. We understand this, and with Emily’s Mental Health First Aider training, we now know to act rather than react in any given situation.

Emily explains: “Our people are the heart of our business – they bring the creativity, sparkle and excitement to the table and in turn, we prioritise their wellbeing at work. It’s our responsibility to ensure each and every member of the eden family is treated as an individual, with their own development programme and understanding of their personality traits – which is woven tightly into the make-up of our staff wellbeing initiatives.

“An appreciation of our employees’ mental health – and acknowledging that everyone has good days and bad days and the whole spectrum of ok days in between – is crucial to maintaining a welcoming, supportive and nurturing workplace. Completing the St John Ambulance Mental Health First Responder course has given me so many resources and tools to strengthen our wellbeing offering and will help us ensure our team feels listened to, understood and most importantly supported, no matter what sort of day they are having.”

Being in the PR and marketing industry, we understand the pressure of social media, societal standards, work/life balances, and how sometimes just one drop can lead to your glass over-flowing.

The eden team uses a growing selection of tools and regular events  to help make the team feel appreciated, connected, comfortable and listened to within the workplace: 

• Monthly socials
• A team WhatsApp group chat (not just for work, but to share cute pet pics in, alongside book suggestions, food reviews and any other funny TikToks we see!)
• Regular 1-1 sessions with a senior team member to discuss work progress, any concerns and achievements, too!
• Birthday celebratory events
• Team lunches
• Fun, engaging and practical training sessions
• Extra days’ holiday on your birthday
• A 5 pm finish on a Friday, every Friday
• Regular staff surveys on specific topics, from IT provision to what’s in the biscuit cupboard
• Drinks on a Thursday – tools down time for a chit chat
• Flexible working – 40% of the week at home, 60% in our lovely Lace Market office
• Regular praise for each team member’s ‘smile file’!

Where to access Mental Health First Aid support

We understand that not every business has the capacity to enlist specific Mental Health First Aiders or Responders, but it’s still important that businesses and the wider team know where to go if they are looking for support and advice.

Here are some courses, charities, and websites that we have found useful:

• Mind Charity has a great mental health at work section on their website, breaking down the importance of taking care of yourself, taking care of your staff and training and consultancy.
• Time To Change has resources for schools, employers and the general public to help make changes in their community.
• Shine is a charity for workplaces looking to carry out webinars, workshops, find mental health support and design anonymous staff wellbeing surveys to really check in with your staff in case they are too nervous about approaching anyone face to face.