At the March Hewett Recruitment & Herefordshire & Worcestershire Chamber of Commerce Hereford HR Forum, delegates were joined by speakers from MFG Solicitors and Glass Full's Jonathan Downes. The key topics discussed at this month's Forum include Sexual Harassment and Mental Health.
As we know, there has been a concentrated focus on sexual harassment in the workplace following ‘#MeToo’, quite rightly leading to a far lower tolerance. MFG Solicitors offered our delegates advice and support regarding ‘reasonable steps’ employers must take to ensure they, as a company, are doing all they can to protect their employees through clear training and policies.
Delegates noted they found this discussion left them feeling more knowledgeable, positive and supported regarding the topic.
When it comes to mental health, there tends to be a focus on encouraging discussion when people are already suffering. Jonathan Downes who joined our delegates from ‘Glass Full’ stated the importance of continuous staff support and development of wellbeing schemes, targeting both those who are struggling and those who are in a positive mind-set.
Wellbeing training is best conducted when staff are feeling in a positive mental state, allowing them to take on board advice and put it into practice; it’s harder to take on new information when your mind is elsewhere, therefore if we’re only ever speaking to employee’s who are already suffering, results may not be as effective.
Poor mental health is the main reason for a large proportion of employee absences, a concerning statistic for employers, suggesting more support must be offered. While the negative effects of absenteeism are somewhat obvious, Jonathon’s research states the cost of presentism (when staff are present but distracted/not able to work to the best of their ability) is even higher. This is a subject we suggest all HR Professionals look at.
Following the HR Forum, as a company, Hewett Recruitment will be continuing to support our team through Jonathon’s ‘Amazing Mental Health’ training workshop, exploring several easy to apply skills to improve wellness by focussing on the positives and raising the baseline of wellbeing, rather than focussing on the ‘crisis’.
“Having a great mind set can lead to experiencing a higher quality of life, a reduction in ill health, better relationships and improved engagement and productivity at work. There are simple skills that anyone can learn to experience amazing mental health most of the time. The workshop explores several easy to apply skills and some of the science behind them.”
If you too are interested in Jonathan’s ‘Amazing Mental Health’ workshop to improve your employee wellbeing, don’t hesitate to contact him on jon@glassfull.org
Jon is aiming to visit as many businesses as possible during Mental Health Awareness Week, 13 May - 19 May.
Get to know a little more about speaker Jonathon Downes:
“I’m an experienced coach, change consultant and speaker with the heart of an engineer. My personal development journey has shown me that the right support at the right time can transform lives. For me, there is nothing more rewarding than providing others with the opportunity and skills to make those powerful shifts in their own lives and in the lives of those they love, lead and serve.
I’ve worked for large and small public and private sector organisations including some of the biggest brands in the world. I’ve read and travelled widely to learn from leaders in the fields of coaching, cognitive neuroscience and spirituality. In distilling that learning for my own benefit I‘ve developed a set of tools that are simple, applicable and memorable, which I use to complement my coaching or independently to help raise the baseline of mental wellbeing in organisations and education."
