02/07/2018

Real-life examples make all the difference

Ewan Main

Product Manager, Mental Health at Work

What have other people learned about this—and what could I learn from them?

As we’ve been talking to people about this site and what would make it useful, one theme that has kept coming across loud and clear is that people really value learning from each other’s experiences. There’s lots in Mental Health at Work that tell you about the latest thinking, make recommendations and give you tools to help make changes – but, time and time again, people wanted to know the who, not just the what.

Who else has been in this position? Who’s tried that approach? What have other people learned about this—and what could I learn from them?

We’re trying to fill that gap in a couple of ways. First up is our Case Studies section, where we’ll be writing in-depth stories of people who have made changes in their workplaces using the resources here. We’d love to hear from anyone in that position: if you’ve got a story to tell, and your organisation is happy to be featured, we’d be delighted to talk to you. (As I write this, the two case studies we have are completely fictional examples that we wrote to test the system. So if you see anything about Sarah from a fruit factory or Dave from Birmingham, feel free to be inspired but bear in mind that they are, from start to finish, lies.)

David GoughBut we’re also starting to see some wonderful examples of people just sharing a few thoughts on why they think workplace mental health is important. And while the advice is often similar from sector to sector, seeing someone from your sector, area or role sharing their experience suddenly makes it seem more relevant. More accessible. A great case in point is the set of videos from Dorset Mind, produced as part of their #Day2Day campaign. Have a look at David talking about mental health in his chain of restaurants​David Gough talks about mental health in the restaurant industry Video David Gough is the Operations Director of The Stable chain of restaurants. Here David talks about opening up about his mental health and encouraging his staff to do the same.Free By: Dorset Mind View resource, or David pointing out that a healthcare service needs to treat its own staff as its beneficiaries too​David Corbin talks about mental health in the healthcare sector Video David Corbin is Dorset Healthcare’s Diversity and Equality. Here David talks about the importance of treating your own staff as potential service users too.Free By: Dorset Mind View resource. If you’re in a similar field – or even if you’re not – they might be the inspiration you need.

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