stress awareness month

Jen started Flourish in Mind back in 2018 following a successful 13 year career in a people leadership role with a leading UK bank. Seeing the impact that mental ill health can have in the workplace, and more importantly the bigger impact that employers can have when effectively supporting those who are struggling inspired Jen to set up a business which provides training, education and consultancy to support them to make a lasting difference.

A key industry in which Jen has developed a real understanding is within construction.

A high pressured environment, with tight deadlines. Often workers are away from home, sometimes for prolonged periods of time. The environment within which individuals are working can make the basics such as good nutrition and exercise challenging too.

In 2022 Mates in Mind conduct a survey of over 300 construction workers finding that 1/3 suffered with elevated levels of anxiety every single day. Over 2/3 believed the stigma surrounding mental health stops them talking about it.

And these are just 2 statistics which highlight the importance of mental health awareness and mental health first aid training in construction.

Mental health first aid isn’t just about having 121 conversations. It is about having an ability to spot the early warning signs and feel equipped to have a proactive conversation. This is about prevention of what the person is experiencing from becoming worse. At a health and safety level it is ensuring that employees are safe both physically and psychologically safe.

Mental health first aiders develop knowledge and can access resources which they can share with others and they have a role to play in breaking the stigma which surrounds being open about our mental health.

Jen has taken organisations from their starting point, through to developing a workplace wellbeing strategy which is making an impactful difference to the people and the organisation.

By taking mental health and wellbeing seriously and putting support in place it can lower the instances of mental ill health related absences. In the construction setting this directly links to the health and safety of all. If people are feeling well and feeling supported, and have knowledge on how to manage things such as their stress levels it also helps to improve relationships, productivity, quality of work and ultimately create a culture which is very attractive to future employees.

If you would like to know more about the services that Jen can offer, connect with her here and mention Juice Personnel and Jen will only be too happy to chat with you.