Exclusive Mental Health in the Workplace sponsorship

This unique event will bring together human resources and health and safety professionals, who will gain insight and practical advice from a range of experts on the strategies, policies, law, employer responsibilities and methodologies relating to this important issue.

Employee wellbeing has risen up the corporate agenda and in 2017 the Thriving at Work report made 40 recommendations for businesses, regulators, the government and the public sector, after it found one worker in six suffers from a mental illness. Poor employee mental health also has severe repercussions for employers in terms of staff turnover, decreased productivity and sickness absence. The Centre for Mental Health states the financial cost to British business of mental ill-health is an estimated £26bn per annum, with 11.7 million working days lost. 

As part of the conference Kate Breslin, product specialist at SGS, will host a breakout session on how to incorporate a mental health strategy within an ISO 45001 management system. She stated, ‘Human resources and health and safety professionals must proactively address work related stress and, in doing so, reduce the likelihood of employees suffering from it. I firmly believe that one of the most effective ways to achieve this is via certification to ISO 45001.’

ISO 45001 defines the requirements for an occupational health and safety management system (OHSMS) and sets out a framework that all employers can implement to address any issues. It is designed to integrate with other ISO management systems standards to create an all-encompassing certification that not only protects workers from workplace related injury and ill health but also helps ensure provision of tailored in-house mental health support. 

Kate Breslin will be joined on the speaker panel by Sharon De Mascia, managing director at Cognoscenti Business Psychologists, who has worked closely with SGS to develop courses that help organisations become psychologically safer and more productive environments. Each course is based on the latest research and explains how to develop a tailored wellbeing strategy, select initiatives that complement a corporate culture, and train employees to become more emotionally resilient and cope better with pressure.

‘When we think of health and safety it is usually physical protection that springs to mind, however, ensuring good mental health ranks as one of the most important elements of an organisation’s operational strategy,’ commented Sharon De Mascia. ‘The Mental Health in the Workplace conference brings together thought leaders who will impart practical advice that delegates can implement within their own businesses. This will include looking at developments such as the Health & Safety Executive’s Management Standards, which address six areas of work design that must be properly managed to maintain wellbeing.’

Kate Breslin of SGS concluded, ‘The challenge of understanding and managing psychological risk factors as part of an Occupational Health and Safety Management System (OHSMS) can be a daunting prospect, which is why the Mental Health in the Workplace conference really is a “must attend” event for all human resources and health and safety professionals, who will come away with a range of must-have tools, information and strategies on this crucial subject.’

To find out more about the Mental Health in the Workplace conference and to book tickets visit www.mhw-conference.com/2020.