Northamptonshire businesses will be better equipped to tackle mental ill health in the workplace, thanks to an informal and educational event hosted by local charities – Teamwork Trust and Enable.

‘Mental Wellness for your Business’ will take place on Friday 17^th May as part of Mental Health Awareness Week; and will be aimed at reducing stigma, raising awareness, and providing helpful tools to better support the counties workforce.

The event will combine a range of informative presentations from expert professionals, and prominent business leaders, followed by frank and open debate and group Q&As sessions. Guests will also hear from people who have overcome mental ill health, and who are now working with organisations, like Teamwork Trust, to help shape and improve services to others. 

John Bruce, strategic director at Teamwork Trust said:

We are seeing more and more people through our counselling and wellbeing services who are experiencing work-related mental health issues – it is a leading cause of sickness absence in the workplace, yet businesses don’t always know how to offer support to their employees. At Teamwork we are committed to changing how people think and talk about mental health, and the workplace is a key area. Co-hosting this event and involving people who have experienced mental ill health will help more local employers support their staff. It is an opportunity for us to make a real difference.

Enable’s new training package – licensed and accredited by Mental Health First Aid England – will also be launched during the event. The new training will offer local employers the opportunity to become Mental Health First Aiders in the workplace – a qualification that may well become a legislative requirement in coming years, due to a business-backed government campaign to raise the profile and importance of supporting individuals in the workplace.

Ian Newton, CEO for Enable, said: “Mental ill health has a huge impact on both individuals and businesses. It’s estimated that every year over thirty billion pounds are lost from the UK economy in staff sickness relating to Mental Ill Health alone. Were delighted to be working alongside our colleagues at Teamwork Trust to encourage local businesses to explore ways to empower and support their employees, promoting mentally healthier working environments across the county’

 
This event is free to attend will be held at the Kettering Park hotel on the 17th May.  To book a place or for more information, click HERE OR email [email protected] OR call 01536 527431.