FMJ.CO.UK MENTAL HEALTH FOCUS
FEBRUARY 2019 37
signpost for individuals that may come to
them with an issue.
Second is a half-day awareness programme
called Managing the Conversation, delivered
by the British Safety Council. This is directed
at supervisors and leaders within a business
to give an understanding of how certain
elements can impact an individual and put
them in a dark place.
The final element is a 45-minute starter
conversation for every employee within
the workplace. This involves getting a
group of people within an environment
to start to address the stigma of mental
ill-health. It aims to provide an open and
confidential space where it’s possible to say
to individuals, ‘it’s OK to feel like this. It’s
normal.’
Says Hails: “The reason I describe the
options that way round is that if you start
the conversation and open the door without
somewhere to go, you could make the
situation worse, which is why there should
be support networks in place within the
organisation. Training plays a part, but
most of all it’s about addressing the stigma
and saying, ‘you know what? It’s OK to feel
like that, because we all do at some point.’
People will then stop seeing mental ill-health
as a weakness.”
MENTAL HEALTH IN FM
Within the FM sector, VINCI Facilities
is attempting to lead from the front.
As part of its Time to Change pledge
(see next page), VINCI is focusing on
mental health and the wellbeing of its
people and those in its supply chain
by setting up mental health first aiders,
wellbeing champions and emphasising
the importance of fairness, inclusivity and
respect.
According to Paul Cottam, VINCI Facilities
Director and a Non-Executive Director of the
British Safety Council, VINCI recognises that
investment in mental health and wellbeing is
something that creates a legacy; it’s not just
about being a safe pair of hands, but about
taking a wider, longer-term view. A happier,
healthier and more productive workforce is
more willing to engage with the communities
it serves because of its positive outlook.
A key strategy is training up mental health
first aiders. Says Cottam: “When we started
discussing this a couple of years ago, there
were people who were interested and
put their hands up, so we discussed it at
leadership meetings. Before we knew it
we had eight to 10 people who asked to go
on the mental health first aid course, who
then came back and organised breakout
sessions.”
According to Hails, the principle behind
mental health first aid is very simple: “If you
cut your finger you’ll go and see a first aider.
If you’re feeling down and depressed, you
can see a mental health first aider.” But he
warns that it’s important to understand the
limitations of mental health first aid.
As with physical first aid, if it’s beyond
a volunteer’s limitations they need to
know where to go, and this is part of their
training. Mental health first aiders are
there as a resource. They’re not trained
psychiatrists; the idea is that they listen, o„ er
a sympathetic ear, look for signs and help
to point people on to organisations such as
Mind, the Samaritans or Mental Health First
Aid England for further support.
In larger organisations there may be an
employee assistance programme (EAP) to
o„ er support, but one of Mates in Mind’s
primary concerns is to address the 95 per
cent of people working in construction
who are employed by an SME. These are
organisations without resources and funds –
sometimes without even a dedicated FM or
HR department.
“The beauty of being a supporter of Mates
in Mind is having access to a range of helpful
organisations,” says Hails. “There is support
available through a national counselling
service, and that benefits the SME
population. We’ve also made a commitment
through the charity that we will invest back
into the SME community, where fulfilling
certain criteria will give you access.”
REDUCING THE STIGMA
Another key aspect, says Cottam, is the
way in which employers address the stigma
around mental health. For example, people
are oƒ en afraid of opening up about mental
health problems for fear of being side-lined.
This is a strong theme of Time to Change,
and Mates in Mind provides the practical
resources and relationships to help.
“Overcoming the stigma can be achieved
in di„ erent ways,” he says. “Our group HSEQ
director introduced us to the Time to Change
movement, and in the middle of that we
developed our relationship with the British
Safety Council and Mates in Mind. We then
presented it back to our people by talking
about HSE statistics on stress and mental
ill-health, and how mental health feeds into
our health and wellbeing strategies.
“In the same way that safety went from
warnings and prosecutions to promoting a
safer zero harm culture, the same needs to
go for mental ill-health. This is why at VINCI
we start all our conversations with ‘how are
you?’, not just as a standard greeting but with
the ethos that ‘if you’re not OK I’m not, and
the people under you won’t be’.”
Adds Hails: “You have to have senior level
commitment, so it must be more than a
If you cut your fi nger
youƉll go and see a fi rst aider.
If youƉre feeling down and
depressed, you can see a
mental health fi rst aider.ƌ