Putting Our Workers Mental Health First

Mental health support is key for everyone, with approximately 1 in 4 people in the UK experiencing a mental health problem each year. Anxiety, the key theme for 2023’s Mental Health Awareness Week, is one of those problems and has become a focus as something that affects millions each year.

The aim of Mental Health Awareness Week each year is to focus on how we can support each other and our mental health, as well as the theme this year of increasing awareness and understanding of anxiety. For the account managers at PSI Global, ensuring our worker’s mental health is looked after has always been a priority. Two of our account managers have shared with us how they’ve helped our workers and some of the feedback they’ve received.

Upskilling our Account Managers for Added Support

It’s not just about saying we offer the support, it’s about being proactive in making sure we have the right tools to support our workers when they need it most.

Senior Account Manager Leanne Doyle regularly worked on-site at the Preston Western Distributor Road Project. She previously took part in mental health support training and ensured she was available to offer support throughout the duration of the project, including our workers having her contact information for support when she was not on-site.

“I speak to our workers regularly about how important it is to look after their mental health. I’ve also done training with i-act to ensure I have the tools available to support them,” Leanne shared while working on the project. In addition to the support Leanne has provided, we’ve also given our workers access to dedicated mental health support organisations that offer free counselling sessions and other essential means of support.

The training programme, on-site support, and subscription service were all worth it, as Leanne had some great feedback from our workers in Preston. One shared with us, “Leanne has been great to me after I opened up about some problems I was having. She has offered me the support that I never expected, and I appreciate everything from her!”

Another worker has also shared about Leanne, “I found myself in a difficult situation on-site and the support I received from Leanne was second to none. I appreciate everything she does for me, it’s nice to work with people who genuinely care.”

Keeping our Plymouth Workers in the Loop

Having our office and team in Plymouth makes it easy for them to be there when our workers need them for support.

On a previous project, the team sent a newsletter to our workers on-site in Plymouth, and the newsletter often featured information on mental health support. “The monthly newsletter has been one of the most vital ways we have supported our workforce,” said Yasmin Lobb, our Senior Account Manager in Plymouth. “We included mental health helplines multiple times, and regularly carried out surveys to get feedback from the employees on how their mental health was working on-site.”

This has been carried on through a current project in Portsmouth, with on-site team member Sallyanne Connolly as the primary point of contact for our workforce. The newsletters going out in Portsmouth also include vital information on mental health helplines and how they can take advantage of our Mental Health Support Scheme.