Signing the agreement marks a company wide acknowledgement of the stigma surrounding mental health and commits to helping break the silence around the issue.
1 in 4 of us will experience a mental health problem each year, whilst 9 in 10 people who have experienced a mental health problem have faced negative treatment from others as a result.
That’s why Bristol Energy have signed the Time to Change Employer Pledge. The pledge is a commitment to change the way we think and act about mental health across the organisation.
Making sure colleagues feel comfortable, listened to and understood is of the utmost importance to us at Bristol Energy. Signing this pledge is us saying ‘we support everyone in this organisation’. We know mental health is a serious issue for many people - we want to do all we can to help lighten the load for employees that are struggling.
- Marek Majewicz, Managing Director, Bristol Energy
Encouraging mental wellbeing at work
At Bristol Energy we have a number of initiatives in place to enable colleagues to manage their mental health.
We have installed a chill out area where colleagues can take a break to meditate or do puzzles and we provide a confidential 24/7 counselling service which can be accessed over the phone. However, our biggest success has been the introduction of Mental Health First Aiders. These are colleagues around the business who have been trained to give confidential mental health support to their peers.
The idea of my peers suffering poor mental health in silence is a real concern, I’m delighted to be part of an organisation that’s putting mental welfare first. As a Mental Health First Aider, I get to help colleagues on a 1-2-1 basis whilst helping destigmatising this prevalent health issue across the wider business.
- Charlotte Alder, Growth Optimisation Manager, Bristol Energy
An important step towards ending discrimination
Signing this pledge will not solve the problem on its own, but it marks a step in the right direction in helping make mental health discrimination a thing of the past.