Take Julia*. Outwardly, Julia seemed to have it all. She had a high-powered job in La Fosse, a boyfriend and a busy social life. In fact, she was struggling. She wasn\u2019t getting on with her boyfriend. Her father had dementia and, after a significant time in recruitment, she was starting to feel \u201cstagnant. I was sleeping for about three hours a night. I didn\u2019t see my life going forward.\u201d<\/p>\n
It was at that moment that an email was sent round all La Fosse workers about a meeting being given by Sanctus, an organisation offering mental health coaching in the workplace. So, says Julia, \u201cI just went along.\u201d<\/p>\n
Talking about mental health can be hard at any time. Talking about mental health at work can, we know, feel almost impossible. Yet according to WHO figures most people spend a third of their adult lives at work. If you can\u2019t talk honestly about the way you are feeling at work, that is a long time to pretend. That is why La Fosse has teamed up with Sanctus, who aim to \u201copen up the conversation\u201d about mental health in the workplace.<\/p>\n
Because, just because admitting to mental health difficulties at work can be hard, doesn\u2019t mean that people don\u2019t experience such difficulties. As Vic Lloyd, the Head of Operations of Sanctus puts it, \u201cYou can be a manager or a head of whatever but you\u2019re also a human. Life doesn’t stop when you get to the doors of the office.\u201d<\/p>\n
Nevertheless, for many years there was – and in some places still is – a culture that said that it should. As Professor Dame Carol Black, principal of Newnham College of the University of Cambridge, who has advised the government on work and mental health, knows well. \u201cEmployers used to argue with me and say that all this belongs at home,\u201d says Professor Black. \u201cOf course, some struggles will indeed originate at home but, for sure they influence your ability to work.\u201d<\/p>\n
Being unhappy at work is not only bad for the employee in question – it is also bad for employers too. As Professor Black explains, \u201cif you\u2019re not in a place where you feel good and have a sense of wellbeing you won\u2019t be productive. I think mental health, engagement and productivity are absolutely related.\u201d Which means that promoting good mental health is not only the right thing to do for workers – it\u2019s also good for their company.<\/p>\n
For La Fosse – given that our whole mission has been based on treating people with care and respect – helping those in our company is not just the right thing to do, it\u2019s a part of our mission statement. We hope to ensure that our employees can talk openly, work through challenges together, and share our successes and struggles alike.<\/p>\n
Sanctus coaches come into offices, which means you can find, here at La Fosse, a \u201cnon-judgemental, open and safe space where you can bring your full self\u201d. Professor Black thinks that being able to talk freely at your workplace is crucial. \u201cIf you have a good employer who you can talk to… then of course it will influence your mental health.\u201d<\/p>\n
It\u2019s not just about getting employees to talk, either. Employers matter too. La Fosse\u2019s Sanctus partnership was launched by two senior La Fosse leaders who shared their own mental health challenges. It was a personal and emotional meeting – and a powerful one. \u201cStigma is very much reduced if there is someone in the company who can talk openly about their own mental health,\u201d says Professor Black. \u201cIt can make a huge difference.\u201d<\/p>\n
Sanctus coaches will discuss whatever you want – anything from relationship breakups to problems at work – but chiefly what they do is listen. As Vic puts it, \u201cthey are not there to give advice. They will ask a lot of powerful questions; be your compass and be your sounding board.\u201d<\/p>\n
This is exactly what Julia found. Looking back, she remembers that her coach didn\u2019t say too much at their appointments. She would, \u201cjust sit there and listen to me talking.\u201d Yet it worked. \u201cI don\u2019t know how she did it,\u201d Julia says, \u201cbut at the end of the session I felt really positive.\u201d After the first session, Julia decided to tackle her difficulties one at a time, beginning with work. Within three months \u201cI\u2019d tripled my salary.\u201d<\/p>\n
It wasn\u2019t just Julia\u2019s work that got better. She then started to address other areas of her life. Her coach asked her to visualise where she wanted to be in six months time. \u201cI said lying on a beach, with a boyfriend\u2026.\u201d And, with coaching \u201cI made it come true.\u201d Julia did indeed find herself lying on a beach, with a new boyfriend in under six months. Through the coaching she had focus, clarity and was happy with her job again. Now, she and her boyfriend are buying a house together.<\/p>\n
Ask Julia whether Sanctus made a difference and she is in no doubt. The answer is a resounding yes. \u201cI actually think it helped me change my life. I can\u2019t speak highly enough about it.\u201d<\/p>\n
* Julia\u2019s name has been changed<\/p>\n
We are publishing this simply because want to contribute to the wider conversation about mental health at work.<\/p>\n
So we have included more material here: a link to Sanctus; and contact details for our CEO, if you are a business who wants to talk about what went well (and not so well) along the way.<\/p>\n
Sanctus is a mental health organisation that works with businesses across the UK, and beyond, to give people the permission to talk about mental health and a safe space with a coach to have the conversation.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
We do our best to make La Fosse a great place to work, and we believe we\u2019re on the right track. Nonetheless, we recognise that it can be tough admitting to certain things that affect your work. Take Julia*. Outwardly, Julia seemed to have it all. She had a high-powered job in La Fosse, a<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":2332,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"inline_featured_image":false,"footnotes":"","_links_to":"","_links_to_target":""},"categories":[675,665,672,671,683],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-1985","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-building-your-company-culture","category-diversity","category-insights","category-la-fosse-news","category-mental-health-and-wellbeing"],"acf":[],"yoast_head":"\n