It's Mental Health Awareness week!
Mental Health Awareness Week (MHAW) starts today (10 – 16 May 2021) and this year’s theme is nature.
MHAW is an annual event providing an opportunity for the whole of the UK to focus on achieving good mental health.
It’s about starting conversations about mental health and the things in our daily lives that can affect it. And this year the focus is about connecting with nature and how nature can improve our mental health.
Read some tops tips on how you can build your own connection with nature.
The week is also a chance to talk about any aspect of mental health that people want to – regardless of the theme.
Accord is proud to support MHAW. Here’s how you can too…
Get involved
There are lots of ways that you can get involved with Mental Health Awareness Week:
- Get social: download the social media graphics and share with your friends and family online - use the hashtags #MentalHealthAwarenessWeek #ConnectWithNature
- Connect: call a friend that you haven’t spoken to for a while, tell a family member how much you appreciate them or arrange a meet up outdoors
- Take action, get active: sign up to the challenge… for the remainder of this month, take part in half an hour of exercise a day outdoors to support the Mental Health Foundation
For more ways to get involved and show your support during the week, check out the resources available on the Mental Health Foundation website.
Mental health at work
The coronavirus pandemic has had a significant impact on our mental health. Many of us may feel concerned or anxious, having less control over how we work and live our lives.
Good mental health at work and good management go hand in hand and there is strong evidence that workplaces with high levels of mental wellbeing are more productive. Addressing wellbeing at work increases productivity by as much as 12%.
Below are some useful online resources available for supporting positive mental health at work:
- Download a copy of the ‘Support mental health at work’ guide, produced by The Mental Health Foundation, which covers how to manage your own mental health at work, how to reach out to a colleague in distress and how you can work with others to make your workplace more mentally healthy for everyone.
- Check out the Mental Health at Work website - it's got all the resources, tools, advice and recommdenations you'll need to help support mental health in the workplace.
- Acas has published some really helpful information and tips on looking after mental health for individuals, managers and employers.
- If you’re an Accord rep, check out the TUC’s ‘Mental health and the workplace’ digital workbook.
- Download and share the Bank Workers Charity’s wellbeing calendar with your colleagues – packed with daily actions to help you look after and improve your mental health and wellbeing.
- The BWC has also produced a workplace wellbeing pack which includes guides and how-to articles, interactive tools and apps, infographics and social media cards, personal stories and much more.
Good mental health at work and good management go hand in hand and there is strong evidence that workplaces with high levels of mental wellbeing are more productive.
Maternal mental health
Last week was National Maternal Mental Health Week (3 – 9 May 2021), a campaign dedicated to talking about mental illness while pregnant or after having a baby.
We sat down with Lucy Maller, an Accord rep and member of the Principal Executive Council, to talk about her experience of being a new mum and the thoughts and feelings she had at the time.
Register for our 'loneliness & social wellbeing' webinar
On Friday 11th June, we're teaming up with the Bank Workers Charity for a webinar that explores social wellbeing and the impact of loneliness at work. The session will cover:
- Why social wellbeing is important
- How loneliness affects us and how this has increased during the pandemic
- Loneliness in the workplace
- Steps we can take to combat loneliness
This event will be hosted by Accord through the Microsoft Teams platform from 11am - 12pm.
Available support
- LBG’s Employee Assistance Programme (Validium): 0800 9700 100
- TSB's Employee Assistance Programme: 0800 0856 348
- Mind mental health charity: https://www.mind.org.uk/
- Bank Workers Charity: 0800 0234 834 — https://www.bwcharity.org.uk/
- Samaritans: 116 123 — https://www.samaritans.org/
- NHS 'Every mind matters': https://www.nhs.uk/oneyou/every-mind-matters/
- NHS (including 111): https://www.nhs.uk/conditions/suicide/
And remember, if you’re an Accord member and need a chat about support at work, call the helpline on 0118 934 1808.
All of our team of advisors have been accredited in Mental Health First Aid by MHFA England.
About the ED&I Group
The Accord Equality Diversity & Inclusion group’s aim is to ensure every individual has the right to an equal opportunity to maximise their potential, regardless of background, and to be treated with dignity and respect. It’s a place where diversity is celebrated, and all contributions are welcomed and cherished without prejudice or judgement. It’s also a chance to collectively learn from our experiences, allowing us to remove barriers and enrich each other’s lives.
The group has a calendar of activities we'll be getting involved in across the year on a broad spectrum of topics. If you’re interested, why not get involved — email us at [email protected] or register to join online.
