Why support mental health in the workplace?
Stress, anxiety and depression are the biggest causes of sickness absence in our society. Mental ‘ill-health’ is responsible for 91 million working days lost every year and for this reason, workplace mental health training is a must.
As an organisation, saying you support mental health, and doing social media posts on national mental health days, is not enough. You need to deliver. To enable you to do that your team needs to be trained, and empowered to feel confident in supporting others with mental health conversations.
It can also help to:
- Build employees’ confidence to have open conversations around mental health and break the stigma around workplace mental health
- Encourage people to access support early when needed, for a faster recovery
- Empower people with long-term mental health issues or disabilities to thrive at work
- Promote a mentally healthy environment, stopping preventable issues and allowing people to thrive and become more productive
- Embed a long-term positive culture across the whole organisation, where employees recognise their mental and physical health are supported as equal parts of the whole person
Having Mental Health First Aiders in your workplace will help you to meet the recommended core standards for a healthy workplace as set out in the Government’s Thriving at Work report. A reputation for having a great environment and caring for your employees will not only help you attract the best talent but help you retain the talent.
Mental Health Training to suit your team
At Training for Life, we don’t believe mental health is a tick-box exercise, or that one solution fits all issues. We provide a service and training programme to suit you and your team.
Bespoke – we can help you create a well-being strategy, and devise a tailored made training package to suit your team and your environment.
Mental Health First Aider (MHFAider®) – Two-day course
Using MHFA England accredited training courses, we teach delegates to spot the signs of mental health issues, offer initial help and guide a person towards support. We don’t teach people to be therapists, we teach them to become mental health first aiders (MHFAiders®). After training with us, delegates enhance their abilities to listen, reassure and respond, even in a crisis – and even potentially reach out to someone before a crisis happens.
We limit numbers to 16 per course to allow the best experience and support from the instructor. We would recommend all line managers should attend.
Your employees will benefit from:
- An ‘in-depth’ understanding of mental health and the factors that can affect wellbeing
- Practical skills to spot the triggers and signs of a range of mental health issues
- Confidence to step in, reassure and support a person in distress using the Mental Health First Aid action plan
- Enhanced interpersonal skills such as non-judgemental listening
- Knowledge to help someone recover their health by guiding them to further support – whether through self-help resources, internal support such as EAP, or external sources such as their GP
- Understanding how to keep themselves safe while performing their duties
Mental Health Champion – One-day course
This one-day course will improve your employees’ understanding of common mental health issues, ability to spot signs of mental ill health and the confidence to advocate for mental health awareness. Learning the skills to support positive well-being will help to improve the culture of your organisation.
Mental Health Awareness Course – half a day
Our half-day course will raise awareness of mental health, giving your team an understanding of how to challenge the stigma around mental health and the confidence to offer support to someone in distress. They will gain a basic knowledge of common mental health issues, and learn how to look after their own mental health and well-being.
Why Training for Life adds more value than other providers
Bespoke – Alongside you, we’ll deliver workplace mental health training that compliments and enhances your existing well-being strategy – if you have one. If you don’t, our dedicated, professionally trained team of instructors will get you started and guide you through this process.
Continued support – we don’t deliver training and then disappear. We will check in regularly with your MHFAiders® to make sure they have the skills and knowledge they need and are feeling confident in their role.
Accredited – our courses are accredited by Mental Health First Aid England (MHFAEngland©) meaning you can be confident in the quality of our delivery and content. Every MHFAEngland© course is delivered by a qualified instructor who has completed our Instructor training programme accredited by the Royal Society for Public Health. We are the only provider of licensed Mental Health First Aid instructor training in England.
CPD – our training counts towards CPD for your employees.
Strategy – we can not only provide high-quality training but can ensure this is backed up by a strong strategy to give the team the tools they need to stay healthy and support each other.
Budget Setting 2024
Mental ‘ill-health’ in the workplace costs UK employers an estimated £34.9 billion each year
- £21.2 billion on reduced productivity
- £10.6 billion on sickness absence
- £3.1 billion on staff turnover
With figures like that, it is a no-brainer to have a budget for mental health training and support. We can help you identify what you need, and help you put your budget together for next year. We can signpost you to solutions, and provide the accredited training your team needs.
The benefits you will gain in terms of productivity, sick absence and turnover, far outweigh the cost of providing a healthy environment for your team.
Next Steps
Call to speak to one of our team about how we can work together to support you and your team. Whether a full audit, one participant on a two-day MHFAider® course, or a bespoke package, we are happy to have a chat and work out what is best for you.