Tuesday 10 October 2023 is World Mental Health Day and this year’s theme, set by the World Federation for Mental Health, is Mental health is a universal human right.
At HLK we are committed to creating a considerate and creative workplace, where all colleagues feel safe and supported. But the challenges that we face are always shifting and merely having resources available for our colleagues isn’t enough. We need to keep changing and adapting to make sure we are providing the most appropriate support and communicating in the best way.
At the start of this year, we asked colleagues to complete a mental health and wellbeing survey so that we could better understand perceptions around mental health in our workplace. The results from this survey are now guiding various initiatives to review how we support our colleagues, whether that is through line management, our wonderful Mental Health First Aiders or specific events.
We want to ensure that all colleagues have access to consistent and predictable support, whatever their need and circumstance. So, we are additionally looking at how to best share information about the various resources and support we have available, and to make it easier for people to access that support when things feel more challenging. We are also working with our Mental Health First Aiders to make sure we promote this offering in the best way within HLK, so that those who need to talk know where to go and what to do to initiate contact.
We have also been delighted to be involved with the project by Jonathan’s Voice to create a resource for all those working in roles that support the running on an IP firm. The resource, which can be found of the Jonathan Voice website, is called “Looking after your mental wellbeing at work” and provides guidance on what to do in specific situations common to those of us working in IP.