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We asked #TeamEames: How can we all start talking more about mental health at work?
Share mental health exercises and good practices in a monthly newsletter and build a culture of connection through check-ins and open questions such as asking how your colleagues’ day or week has been. - Jojo Yeung, Hong Kong
Organise talks on mental health for awareness and for staff to ask questions openly or confidentially after. Have publicity stories of staff or people who previously struggled with mental health issues, and their journey of recovery and acceptance. - Vincent Yao, Singapore
Normalising conversations around the subject would be a good starter. Small steps like sharing supportive, mental health measures and introducing awareness across all levels of a business can help employees share more openly with one another. - Amelia Chan, Singapore
Organised talks and check-ins with employees at a confidential level to see how they are coping. - Lucas Tan, Singapore
In the same way that you would treat a nasty infection with antibiotics and rest, sometimes, if your mental health takes a knock, you need to have some time to regroup too. Too often, people will cite a physical reason (e.g. stomach bug) rather than feeling like they cannot work. The shame is that most of the managers that I know would be very keen to support and assist with mental health challenges. The problem is that it is still so stigmatised that people rarely want to admit to this challenge. - Abigail Moss, UK
Potentially implementing it more into catch-ups in some informal manner. - William Bragg, UK
Creating genuine opportunities and a safe environment to discuss mental health and wellbeing. Individually, making an honest effort with others and taking the lead in speaking up if we need support in managing our workload. - Heather Yardley, UK
Be more honest, everyone has ups and downs, but at work, we are expected to park a lot of “home” stuff at the door, but mental health is not a thing you can leave behind, not like an argument with a partner or a long to-do list. People should be able to say, I am feeling pressure or a bit down, a bit lost and get support, not rolling of eyes. - Andrew Mackay, UK
I think it would be useful to run some form of a session that addresses signs that someone you work with is struggling and some tips for approaching the individual in the most empathetic way. This could perhaps create an ‘unwritten safe space’ for the team and organisation. - Amelia Mercer, UK
Employers should be raising awareness of different mental health issues and problems either through training days, virtual conferences, or reading. By doing this, hopefully, the more people that are aware and are actively learning, the more comfortable employees will be to talk about it. - Jodi Macbeth, UK
Checking in with your colleagues when you notice a sudden change in behaviour, whether that’s offering to go for a coffee or just saying hello can make a difference to someone silently struggling. - Viveca Riley, UK