Personnel Today
  • OHW+
  • Resources
    • Clinical governance
    • Disability
    • Ergonomics
    • Health surveillance
    • OH employment law
    • OH service delivery
    • Research
    • Return to work and rehabilitation
    • Sickness absence management
    • Wellbeing and health promotion
  • Conditions
    • Mental health
    • Musculoskeletal disorders
    • Blood pressure
    • Cancer
    • Cardiac
    • Dementia
    • Diabetes
    • Respiratory
    • Stroke
  • CPD
  • Webinars
  • Jobs
  • Personnel Today

Personnel Today

Register
Log in
Personnel Today
  • OHW+
  • Resources
    • Clinical governance
    • Disability
    • Ergonomics
    • Health surveillance
    • OH employment law
    • OH service delivery
    • Research
    • Return to work and rehabilitation
    • Sickness absence management
    • Wellbeing and health promotion
  • Conditions
    • Mental health
    • Musculoskeletal disorders
    • Blood pressure
    • Cancer
    • Cardiac
    • Dementia
    • Diabetes
    • Respiratory
    • Stroke
  • CPD
  • Webinars
  • Jobs
  • Personnel Today

Mental health conditions

Mental health first aid training helps cut stress in the workplace

by Caroline Hounsell 2 Feb 2015
by Caroline Hounsell 2 Feb 2015

With some 70 million working days lost each year to mental health issues, according to England’s chief medical officer’s 2014 annual report, mental health first aid is one solution for the workplace. Caroline Hounsell explains more. 

The 2014 report of chief medical officer Dame Sally Davies focused on mental health, and looked at the cost of mental ill health to UK employers. It recommended that organisations prioritise mental health when it comes to investing in their employees.

Over the past year, social enterprise Mental Health First Aid England (MHFA) has reported a marked increase in demand for workplace training. MHFA’s mission is to increase the nation’s mental health literacy and it offers employers a cost-effective way of tackling this issue in the workplace.

What is mental health first aid?

“MHFA is an internationally recognised and robustly evaluated training course that teaches people to spot the first signs and symptoms of common mental health problems and guide the person who is exper-iencing a mental health issue to appropriate help,” says the company’s CEO, Poppy Jaman. “Evidence shows that early intervention has a positive impact on a person’s recovery and therefore many employers are viewing the importance of MHFA to their organisation in much the same way as physical first aid,” she adds.

One organisation that has used MHFA is EY, a global professional services firm that has more than 14,000 employees in the UK and Ireland.

Like many businesses in recent months, EY has used the word “recovery” to describe improving financial markets and the end of a recession. Increasingly though, the employer is also referring to “recovery” in a different context – that of mental health. Underpinning EY’s approach to mental health is the assump-tion that any employee that is affected by a mental health issue will be supported along their recovery journey.

Cost to business

With mental ill health now affecting one in six of the UK workforce and the cost to UK business estimated at £26 billion per year, there is a clear need for employers to do more to protect, support and help staff with mental health issues.

The firm’s wellbeing programme is called Health EY and its “Thinking differently” initiative focuses specifically on mental health matters. EY has also introduced policies, initiatives and training courses to tackle the issue. One of the key aspects of this programme has been the roll out of MHFA throughout the organisation. Employees are being trained to act as a first point of call for staff facing mental health challenges or seeking advice. The firm has also formed a mental health buddy scheme to provide an informal support network to anyone affected by a mental health condition.

Paul Quinlan, a senior manager in the employee relations team at EY, explains the firm’s decision to invest in MHFA: “We wanted mental and physical health to hold equal weight in our wellbeing programme.”

After attending the standard two-day MHFA course, participants are able to provide help on a first-aid basis and effectively guide a person who is experiencing a mental health issue towards the right support services. In the case of EY, this might be signposting the person to the psychological care pathway or suggesting a referral to the firm’s occupational health team. It might also just be having a friendly chat and reassuring the person that support is available.

The course was offered to all staff on a voluntary basis and was publicised through the firm’s daily news email bulletin, the wellbeing intranet pages, the disability working group and mental health network. There are now around 100 partners and staff trained in MHFA and with more courses booked, this number will continue to increase over time.

Sign up to our weekly round-up of HR news and guidance

Receive the Personnel Today Direct e-newsletter every Wednesday

OptOut
This field is for validation purposes and should be left unchanged.

EY’s philosophy on wellbeing is based on the idea that there should be similar approaches to mental and physical health (sometimes described as parity of esteem). Quinlan says: “In the same way that anyone can get a cold or flu, anyone can be affected by a mental health issue. In addition, the common assumption is that most physical health problems are temporary and it is generally expected the person will make a full recovery; whereas with mental health issues the perception tends to be the opposite. Our ‘Thinking differently’ programme aims to educate and build awareness of mental health and wellness because we want caring for your own mental health and that of the people around you to become business as usual at EY.”

EY is committed to delivering MHFA across the organisation for the foreseeable future. Support has also been gained at board level. Steve Wilkinson, EY’s UK and Ireland managing partner for client service, and partner sponsor of Health EY, says: “Within our programme, we have placed an increased emphasis on tackling the stigma of mental health, which is often viewed as the last workplace taboo. The introduction of mental health first-aiders and a buddy system will supplement our existing employee networks, providing a great way to get people talking about an issue that affects over one in four people in the UK.”

Caroline Hounsell

Caroline Hounsell is business development and quality director of Mental Health First Aid England (MHFA).

previous post
Revving the L&D engine at Jaguar Land Rover
next post
RAD Awards 2015 winners unveiled

2 comments

HaroldAMaio 2 Feb 2015 - 4:45 pm

— tackling the stigma of mental health

You teach a “stigma.” That in no way helps.

Confused 3 Feb 2015 - 10:11 am

Who is the “stigma.” that you plan to teach Harold.
Surely teaching about mental health issues can only break down the sigma caused by ignorance. It is all good!

Comments are closed.

You may also like

Employers ‘worryingly’ ignorant about stress risk assessments

20 May 2025

Awareness weeks fuel spike in demand for mental...

19 May 2025

Four ways employers can reduce the risk of...

14 May 2025

Healthcare workers prioritise mental health support in new...

12 May 2025

Two-thirds of school leaders suffering mental ill health

6 May 2025

‘Healthy work’ about much more than access to...

28 Apr 2025

Call for better mental health support for NHS...

17 Apr 2025

Computer says no: IT woes giving employees sleepless...

15 Apr 2025

Nearly half did not take even one full...

14 Apr 2025

Quarter feel their employer is ineffective at managing...

11 Apr 2025

  • 2025 Employee Communications Report PROMOTED | HR and leadership...Read more
  • The Majority of Employees Have Their Eyes on Their Next Move PROMOTED | A staggering 65%...Read more
  • Prioritising performance management: Strategies for success (webinar) WEBINAR | In today’s fast-paced...Read more
  • Self-Leadership: The Key to Successful Organisations PROMOTED | Eletive is helping businesses...Read more
  • Retaining Female Talent: Four Ways to Reduce Workplace Drop Out PROMOTED | International Women’s Day...Read more

PERSONNEL TODAY

About us
Contact us
Browse all HR topics
Email newsletters
Content feeds
Cookies policy
Privacy policy
Terms and conditions

JOBS

Personnel Today Jobs
Post a job
Why advertise with us?

EVENTS & PRODUCTS

The Personnel Today Awards
The RAD Awards
Employee Benefits
Forum for Expatriate Management
OHW+
Whatmedia

ADVERTISING & PR

Advertising opportunities
Features list 2025

  • Facebook
  • Twitter
  • Instagram
  • Linkedin


© 2011 - 2025 DVV Media International Ltd

Personnel Today
  • OHW+
  • Resources
    • Clinical governance
    • Disability
    • Ergonomics
    • Health surveillance
    • OH employment law
    • OH service delivery
    • Research
    • Return to work and rehabilitation
    • Sickness absence management
    • Wellbeing and health promotion
  • Conditions
    • Mental health
    • Musculoskeletal disorders
    • Blood pressure
    • Cancer
    • Cardiac
    • Dementia
    • Diabetes
    • Respiratory
    • Stroke
  • CPD
  • Webinars
  • Jobs
  • Personnel Today