Making mental health your business - October event - Enable. Supported Employment Services

One in four people suffer with mental health conditions every year; this means potentially one in four people in your workforce. As an employer, dealing with situations related to mental health can be daunting.

Supported Employment Service, Enable, is hosting a free event for World Mental Health Day – 10 October 2016 – at the Hive, Shrewsbury. The event is aimed at helping employers gain knowledge and skills on how to approach situations around mental health in the workplace.

According to mental health charity, Mind, a culture of silence around mental health in the workplace is costly to employers; with more than one in five people surveyed (21%) stating that they have previously called in sick to work due to workplace stress and 14% of people agreeing that they had resigned for these reasons, while 42% have thought about resignation. A staggering 30% of staff said that they would not feel able to talk openly with their line manager if they were feeling stressed. Looking after the mental wellbeing of all staff is good for business – it improves staff retention and saves time and money.

56% of employers said they would like to do more to improve staff wellbeing but don’t feel they have the right training or guidance.

Enable helps people with mental health needs gain and remain in employment. Employing someone with a mental health need through Enable can bring significant benefits to a business. These include ongoing access to support and advice from an experienced and fully trained Employment Officer, the provision of candidates that have been selected specifically for the job, helping to make a workforce that reflects the company’s diverse customer base as well as bringing additional and valuable skills to the business. Enable can also help to coordinate staff training on mental health awareness.

If you are a business owner or responsible for the employment of staff, why not attend the event to find out more and hear about real-life examples of how employing people with mental health conditions can bring about real benefits to your business.