A group of Hull employers came together today at the University of Hull for the city’s first conference on employee mental health.
Time to Change is a mental health campaign set up to reduce mental health-related stigma and discrimination.
The conference – just the second event of its kind to have taken place in the UK – combined workshops, speakers and a panel discussion, all themed around improving mental health at work.
The 200 people who took part have all made commitments to reducing the stigma of talking about mental health and to supporting employees’ and colleagues’ mental wellbeing.
The Time to Change Employer Pledge launched in Hull last year last year. So far 43 employers have either completed the pledge or are in the process of doing so.
Pledges allow businesses to make a commitment to change how they think and act about mental health at work.
Over the past year, Hull City Council and local mental health charity Hull and East Yorkshire (HEY) Mind have worked together to deliver free mental health training as part of Time to Change. Sessions were quickly fully booked, with 104 people taking part.
Councillor Gwen Lunn, portfolio holder for public health and adult social care, said: “Today’s event was a really wonderful reflection of how many of our local employers truly prioritise the mental health and wellbeing of their workforce.
“We heard some very powerful words, including from some very brave people who spoke about their personal experiences of navigating grief, anxiety, depression and breakdown, and how being supported at work made all the difference for them.
“It’s very clear that the Time to Change pledge is not just lip service, it is a movement making a tangible difference to people’s lives.”
Delegates heard from Hull KR head coach Tony Smith, Hull City Council chief executive Matt Jukes, Hull NHS CCG chief officer Emma Latimer, Siemens Gamesa HR specialist Laura Botham and people who have experience of mental health problems in the workplace.
Sign up for the Time to Change Employer Pledge or learn more here.
