Member Article

Law firm champions mental health charity

Fast-growing North West law firm DTM Legal announced its new charity of the year, Mind, to coincide with Mental Health Awareness Week. Mind is a national charity with the mission to make sure that no one has to face a mental health problem alone.

As well as running a programme of activities to raise money for Mind, DTM Legal will be posting regular blogs on its website to help business owners keep up to date on best practices to support mental health awareness in the workplace.

It’s estimated that around one in seven people are experiencing mental health problems in the workplace at any given time, and around 13 percent of all sickness days can be attributed to mental health conditions, making it the leading cause of absence in the UK.

Body image is a key theme for Mental Health Awareness Week, and Tom Evans, head of DTM Legal’s Employment team, said: “It’s vital to highlight how mental health issues cross over into all areas for life – including work. For example, there are some very worrying statistics emerging regarding the impact body image has, with one in eight people in the UK having experienced suicidal thoughts or feelings because of concerns about how they look.

“Work plays a massive role in body image and how we observe our own bodies, no doubt heightened by the use of social media. This can be due to the nature of our jobs, the workplace culture or the types of people that we interact with. Having body image concerns is not a mental health ‘problem’ in itself; however, it can be a risk factor for mental health problems.

“As employers, we must ensure that help is available to individuals who may need it, at all levels within our organisation. Our support must be inclusive (not intrusive) – for instance, body image is a complex, and often very personal experience at the forefront of our minds.”

Tom makes the following suggestions for employers to think about during Mental Health Awareness Week:

1. Implement a mental health and wellbeing policy and communicate to all employees.
2. Train managers in Mental Health First Aid so that they are more adept at recognising the possible symptoms someone in mental distress could present.
3. Prioritise wellbeing by designing action plans (WAPs) to support the mental health of your team members.
4. Encourage organisational employee networks to provide individuals with a safe environment in which they can share their stories with people who can empathise.
5. Implement volunteer days to enable your teams to support charities or causes that resonate with them.
6. Promote flexible working to de-stress through exercise and mindfulness, attend counselling or meet mentors / career coaches.

Free resources to help employers in challenging misconceptions and supporting people’s mental health and wellbeing can be found on websites including Mind, Mental Health at Work and The Mental Health Foundation.

This was posted in Bdaily's Members' News section by Sophie Everett .