This April marks the 29th year of Stress Awareness Month. In line with the importance of stress awareness, the Good Employment Charter has created a new mental health toolkit for employers. The toolkit is an essential resource for both SMEs and larger firms, written with the pandemic context in mind. It offers relevant and direct ways for employers to address mental health in the workplace.
According to the Mental Health Foundation, 74% of UK adults have felt so stressed within the last year that they have felt overwhelmed, or unable to cope. Our toolkit provides support in:
- Making a commitment to tackling mental health
- Building your approach, from a legal and policy standpoint
- Introducing a positive culture for mental health
- Mental health support and training
- Managing mental health and organizational changes
- Providing the right support and adjustments
- Helping people recover
- Going further and creating lasting change
Drawing on the existing good practice across Greater Manchester, we hear examples from Members of the Charter Rowlinson Knitwear, The Growth Company, Pozzoni Architecture and Wigan & Leigh College, amongst other employers. For guidance, a checklist is included which will help businesses start their journey to address mental health in the workplace.
We invite businesses to sign up to the Charter’s Supporters’ Network. Once a Supporter, employers will begin their journey to improve their employment practices and will be provided with fully funded support and resources. To find out more, you can visit our website.
The aim of the Good Employment Charter is to improve employment standards across Greater Manchester and contribute towards a thriving and productive economy. One of the seven key workplace characteristics we focus on is Health & Wellbeing. You can access our resources here.
Working through the pandemic has taken a toll on everyone’s mental health & wellbeing. Good employers have understood the need to support their staff through this period and to place health & wellbeing at the heart of their culture. We are delighted to have worked with the GM Health and Social Care Partnership to produce this toolkit. A toolkit to help all employers address this key issue as we move forward and learn how to manage the post pandemic challenges.
Ian MacArthur, Head of The Good Employment Charter