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A new programme has launched to help businesses better understand and support employee mental health.
Jersey Recovery College's ‘Mental Health at Work’ programme, developed from work with 40 local employers, is based around getting businesses to create more caring and compassionate working environments and practices.
It involves working with senior leaders and training managers to better understand and support mental health on their teams, making them more aware of signs of distress and when to take action when their own mental health is struggling.
The programme is split into four sections:
Jersey Recovery College Chair Ben Bennett said: “One in four people will experience a mental health difficulty every year, two thirds of whom are likely to say that work either caused or exacerbated their poor mental health."
Pictured: Jersey Recovery College Chair Ben Bennett.
He continued: “Sick days lost to stress, anxiety and depression cost businesses and Government millions, and yet 80% of local businesses have no policy or strategy in place to support mental health in workplace.
“A year ago, we realised that there wasn’t a service which enabled businesses to identify how they could improve both the culture and the infrastructure in their workplace to better address mental health needs.
“Since then we have consulted with more than 40 businesses, and as a result we have a service which has been co-produced by businesses and those with lived experience of mental health difficulties.”
He added: “I believe the pandemic has brought mental health into sharp focus and we expect the demand for our support to be considerable as a result.”
Ports of Jersey was the first organisation to engage with the new programme.
Its CEO, Matt Thomas, said: "We have worked with Jersey Recovery College to roll out a programme that will empower and train our senior leaders and managers in how best to support our workforce, and I look forward to seeing the cultural change it is likely to bring."
The programme will open to other organisations in 2021. They can express interest by sending an email.
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