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Mental Health Awareness Week – No Mind Left Behind!
Date Added 17/05/2024
Mental Health Awareness Week – No Mind Left Behind!
Mental Health Awareness Week runs from 13-19 May, and this year’s theme from Mental Health charity Mind is #NoMindLeftBehind. Whilst work-related stress is itself not considered a mental health issue, it can aggravate existing mental health problems, making them more difficult to control.
Kyran Flynn, General Manager Shared his thoughts:
We take mental health at Johnsons very seriously, especially as more and more people become understanding of it in recent years. We have always had an open-door policy here, that enables our staff to talk to any one of us about anything they want to. Within the past year, we have trained an exclusive team of 16 staff to be fully trained Mental Health First Aiders. This is from myself, managers to drivers and office staff, we have a vast range of employees trained to deal with certain scenarios and situations. Hopefully we never have to put the training in place, however in our line of work, with drivers and staff away from home a lot, especially during the summer months, we feel it is important to have support lines in place and have people trained that can make a genuine difference to mental health.
At Johnsons Mental health is very important to us and we do lots of different things to support all staff and customers. We like to make sure we supply a good work-life balance, as long hours and dull days can contribute to increased stress levels and burnout. At Johnsons have taken a few key steps to help support our staff and customers:
PAM WELL-BEING FOR ALL STAFF - PAM Wellness Solutions support us by promotion workplace wellbeing to reduce absenteeism, lower work-related stress, enhance resilience, and ultimately enhance productivity and mental wellness in the workplace.
REGULAR SOCIAL EVENTS - We host regular work drinks at our local pub. This help support each other and create social connections away from a setting where they spend a lot of time. These relationships are important for every employee’s well-being. They provide a chance for colleagues to relax and socialise. Whilst also allowing an everyone to get to know their teams on a more personal level.
MENTAL HEALTH FIRST AIDERS - In January 2024 16 members of staff went on a 2 days Mental Health First Aider course to enable them to provide support. We chose to included a mixture of staff members because we wanted to be able to provide this to our customers as well. The Mental health first aiders have freely given their contact details and to help all staff and customers in a number of ways.
One Thing that was highlighted throughout the course was the importance of self-care and knowing when to take a break.
SELF-CARE IS KEY
To help we want to share practical ways for HGV drivers to care for their mental health:
- Prioritise self-care by taking breaks and engaging in relaxing activities.
- Seek professional support if needed.
- Establish a structured routine for rest and work.
- Practice stress management techniques like deep breathing and mindfulness.
- Stay active through exercise and mindful driving.
- Maintain healthy eating habits and take regular breaks.
- Foster work-life balance and social connections.
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