Mental Health Awareness Week – why Employers should encourage a more holistic approach to work

A staggering 1.7 million working people are estimated to have suffered with a work-related illness in 2020/21, with 822,000 suffering from stress, depression or anxiety.

As the hazy past of overworked individuals who barely got a well done from their Employer is slowly but surely fading out, people now want to feel recognised as individuals with personal needs within a professional setting. Qube Learning, a leading national recruitment and training provider, works with Students across various industries to place them in appropriate employment, where they can reach their full potential while learning and developing their skill sets and gaining confidence.

Joe Crossley, CEO of Qube Learning, says:

‘The robotic times where one staff mould would suit all has been transitioning over to a more individual-led approach, where Employers ask their staff what they can do to make them feel like they have a voice and feel cared for. A more holistic approach allows staff to feel like their mental, physical and financial wellbeing is being considered, a requirement that sits more and more at the top of someone’s list when looking for employment.

Mental Health Awareness Week is a time that will hit home for a huge amount of people, and as an Education and Training Provider and an Employer, it provides us with an opportunity to help Students that suffer with mental health conditions through our work with professional psychologists and mental health specialists who offer support on creating good habits to guard mental health, the impact of loneliness and practical steps that can be taken to address it, tools and tips to control anxiety, panic attack management, depression signs and symptoms and what can be done to protect themselves.

It’s also our duty to ensure there are accessible tools that help Students and our own employees be happy and healthy. Their overall health and wellbeing can impact productivity, performance, motivation, loyalty and affect their levels of absence at work, so we appreciate that steps such as the below can help create a kinder, more welcoming work environment:

• Boost team relationships
• Communicate effectively
• Raise the profile of mental health
• Promote a healthier lifestyle
• Recognise good work
• Offer flexible working and benefits
• Give your employees a voice
• Accept regular feedback

In recognition of this week and the theme ‘loneliness’, we are supporting our Students by hosting a Mental Health Resources and Support webinar with expert mental health professional Paula Gardner. It is also open to anyone else looking for aid with their psychological state, with registration HERE for this Thursday’s session.

Working with many Students, we cater our approach to what they need from us and their Employer to help their learning and work journey. This is key to their professional and personal success. Our relationship with Students and their Employers doesn’t end once we have placed them in work, we continue to ensure that trust and confidence builds into a solid entity from all parties involved and pride ourselves on our hands-on style.’

Qube Learning is a proud to be an OFSTED grade 2 (Good) Recruitment and Training Solutions Provider, delivering a range of training and qualifications to hundreds of Employers and Students across the country. If you are interested in finding out more about the positive opportunities an Apprenticeship, Traineeship or Qube Vision eLearning can bring, then speak with the experts at Qube Learning.