‘Mentally healthy’ business group launches global wellbeing framework

A community of ‘mentally healthy’ businesses, including Deloitte, HSBC and Linklaters, has launched a set of standards designed to foster working environments that will help people thrive mentally and emotionally.

The City Mental Health Alliance (CMHA), which is formed of 54 large organisations, has created a Global Thriving at Work Framework that sets out three pillars multinational firms should work towards when building their global mental health strategy.

The pillars, which are underpinned by evidence-based recommendations, are:

1. Create a culture of wellbeing and psychological safety.
2. Develop a mentally healthy working environment.
3. Proving and signpost to accessible resources, tools and support.

Each pillar is given a list of ‘foundations’, key organisational components that need to be in place, and ‘interventions’, recommended action and practices based on what has worked well across the CMHA community.

The framework, which has also been informed by mental health experts and academic research, includes practical guidance based on the organisations’ real experiences in areas such as challenging mental health stigma, through to managing people.

Poppy Jaman, CEO of the City Mental Health Alliance, said: “As we face a global mental health crisis, every business has to be radical and relentless in its expectation of itself to support the mental health of its people.

“Over recent years we have seen a growing number of multinationals commit, or take steps to, support the mental health of their people across the world. The CMHA is sharing this business led, expert guided Global Framework to ensure that all multinational organisations have the direction and guidance they need continue this journey. Now is the time to act.”

Organisations are also able to conduct a self-assessment against the three pillars, to establish how much progress they have made and what changes are still required in order to become a “mentally healthy” place to work.

Jeremy Hill, head of pensions and benefits at Standard Chartered, said: “We are very excited about the direction that the City Mental Health Alliance is taking in developing a Global Framework. Although we are relatively new to CMHA, we are keen to be part of this new direction. For multinational organisations, that combination of global strategy and initiatives and local execution is crucial to an effective approach.”