World Mental Health Day 2019 – Why it matters

I read something recently which really struck me and, as it’s World Mental Health Day today, I thought I’d share. It was an interview with Steve Beedie, the wellbeing campaigner we’ve talked about before. He said: “You will never hear of someone stopping the job because of their mental health. You’ll stop the job because of a safety concern… but we need to remember – it’s not safety and health; it’s health and safety.”

And it really made me pause and think. If we’re not starting from a position of health at the start – how can we ensure that the next critical part, ‘safety’, can be achieved?

Mental health is a massive issue and, although it’s something that people are conscious of, I believe as an industry we face particular pressures that require us to stretch ourselves even further to address. If anyone questions whether it’s of value, you only need to start a conversation and see what engagement you get. Take Bernard Looney, chief executive of BP’s upstream division, who shared his own experiences in a townhall. “The response I got was quite frankly extraordinary, not because of how well the story was told, but because there was so much desire inside the company to talk about it and share stories. Since then I’ve been doing quite a bit in this space.”

BP is doing a lot around counselling and identifying areas where the company may have mental health hotspots that need extra support.  “Everyone is dealing with something” says Bernard. Never a truer word was spoken.

Earlier this year Paul McMonagle spoke out about his mental health, after attempting to take his life. He struggled to deal with crippling anxiety, partial epilepsy and blindness for years and turned to alcohol and drugs. But having experienced professional help, he’s now able to share his story – even though not everyone approves. “I have in the past had people telling me I shouldn’t be talking about it, and that it is for home,” he says, “But you bring everything from your home life into your work life.”

His employer, Wood, get it. It’s helping Paul to raise awareness around the issues and tackle the continued stigma: “Wood is committed to open conversations around mental health and creating an environment where our employees feel comfortable to speak up. As part of our focus on employee wellbeing, we aim to raise awareness of mental health issues and encourage our people to take time to care for one another, learn about mental health and recognise the signs if someone is struggling.”

I’d like to hear what works for you, and what else you’d like to see happen to help protect everyone’s mental health onboard?