Championing Mental Health and Workplace Wellbeing
Coinciding with this year’s mental health awareness week, PR and social media agency WPR has reached the notable milestone of having 80% of its team trained as mental health champions.
For the fourth consecutive year, a group of WPR colleagues has completed the mental health first aid (MHFA) champions course run by Birmingham Mind, a charity dedicated to supporting people’s mental health needs.
Rebecca Williams, director of people and planning, said: “We’ve been training all line managers for several years, knowing that the skills they acquire will help them better support their teams in all manner of ways. But we also encourage anyone who wants to learn more about mental health to complete the Mind training, and I’m proud that 80% of our team has now done so.
“Workplaces have changed dramatically over recent years, not least in the shift to hybrid working post-pandemic, and we’ve looked holistically at how we care for, develop and train our team. Removing the stigma around talking about mental health is part of this, as is equipping people with knowledge and practical strategies to help themselves and others.”
WPR’s wider people strategy includes a dedicated wellbeing lead who manages a programme of activities to enhance wellbeing and mental health, annual wellness grants, plus personalised mental health support services and counselling.
Mind is the leading provider of mental health training in England. The charity’s goal is to train one in 10 people on mental health awareness and skills, creating a society where everyone can talk freely about mental health and seek support when they need it.