Forum addresses issue businesses ‘can’t afford to ignore’
The latest Connect HR Forum hosted by TeamJobs and Steele Raymond LLP Solicitors was the biggest yet and addressed the issue ‘businesses can’t afford to ignore’ - mental health in the workplace.
Delegates from 30 different companies across the area gathered at Steele Raymond’s HQ in Richmond Hill, Bournemouth, to hear Simon Cassin, Director of Ouch Training Team Ltd, explain that mental illness now affects one in four people in the UK each year.
Simon, a former fire fighter turned trainer, who has himself battled mental illness, revealed that *12.5million working days were lost during 2016/17 due to illness caused by stress, depression and anxiety.
He went on to address ways in which companies can help their employees, such as implementing mental health at work plans; raising mental health awareness; encouraging open conversations about mental health and ensuring support is readily accessible when people need it.
Peter Rolph, Managing Partner & Head of Dispute Resolution at Steele Raymond, also spoke at the Forum, shedding light on some of the legalities surrounding mental health in the workplace.
Sally Bennett, Executive Manager at Poole and Bournemouth-based TeamJobs, said:
“Mental well-being is obviously a hugely topical issue and Simon’s presentation was both engaging and helpful. So much so that the meeting overran considerably, with people were still waiting to ask him questions long afterwards.
This is exactly what Connect HR was set up to do - educate, inform and ultimately encourage businesses to work more effectively together.”
Connect HR started in January and comprises The Connect HR Forum - where human resources professionals and business leaders can discuss the hot topics affecting business, from harassment to data protection - and The Connect HR Academy, which enables delegates to drill down on these major issues, to gain insight from high profile speakers and invest in theirs and their company’s Continuous Professional Development.
Sally continued:
“Feedback we have received in the days since the Forum has been very positive. Local companies are committed to their employees’ mental health and many delegates said they would be putting things they had learned at the Forum into practise. Which is very encouraging.”
The Connect Forum is free to attend but spaces are limited and all delegates must pre-register.
*taken from the Thriving at Work survey commissioned by the UK government