Minds@Work is an independent mental health charity.
Registered in 2018, our purpose is to inspire and equip people to enhance mental wellbeing in the workplace. Our vision is that work enhances mental wellbeing and doesn’t contribute towards mental ill health. Everyone plays a part in creating a healthy workplace, so our work focuses on reaching people from every level, not just leadership, driving positive behaviour change through society.
Sadly, 1 in 6.8 people experience mental health problems in the workplace (14.7%) (Source: Mental Health Foundation). Furthermore, according to a Deloitte 2020 report, poor mental health costs UK employers up to £45 billion a year. Our work addresses the mental health issue at both ends of the spectrum.
We focus our efforts on eradicating the stigma of mental illness in the workplace, positively affecting individuals we reach by insight or tools, and elevating mental health on business agendas. We do this through convening individuals and communities physically or virtually via our community events and our peer support programmes.
The majority of our events and programmes are free because we would like to create opportunities that are inclusive and accessible for our 2,000+ community members and beyond. We receive our funding primarily from CSR teams in large corporations and individual donors, but are seeking grant funding this year to expand our reach and impact.
We focus our efforts on eradicating the stigma of mental illness in the workplace, positively affecting individuals we reach by insight or tools, and elevating mental health on business agendas. We do this through convening individuals and communities physically or virtually via our community events and our peer support 'HIVE' programme:
Our community events are where attendees are inspired and equipped with the tools they need to improve mental health in their workplace. We invite individuals to share personal stories to break the stigma of mental illness and make mental health a topic of everyday conversation. We also invite experts to impart their knowledge and give our audience tools to ‘pass it on’ in their places of work. We invest heavily in our marketing, ensuring that we curate and share the best information to our member community and beyond.
We are currently piloting a Highly Interactive, Virtual Experience (HIVE) 90-day peer support programme focusing on the different pillars of mental wellbeing. Attendees either benefit individually or are equipped with tools to run similar programmes within their own organisations. HIVE’s design authorities are Emma Watson, who holds a PhD in Peer Support and Dr. Sara Meddings, who is a Consultant Psychologist specialising in recovery-oriented practice. They are the authors of the book “Peer Support in Mental Health” and have facilitated the spread of peer support in mental health services across the UK and internationally.
