to share certain things; the My Whole Self campaign is about creating the right environment at work for people to bring their whole self, if they wish to do so. Alarmingly, research from MHFA England who recently surveyed 2,000 employees in February, showed that: • 1 in 5 employees said discriminatory or exclusionary behaviours had a negative outcome on their mental health • 1 in 7 employees have considered quitting their job as a result of discriminatory or exclusionary behaviours Why is “My Whole Self” important for mental health and wellbeing? Bringing our whole selves to work has many benefits for our mental health and wellbeing, as well as for our performance and productivity. We all deserve to feel valued and empowered to be our 'whole self' at work, which can help drive innovation and excellence from individuals. According to MHFA England, some of these benefits include: • Reducing stress and anxiety • Increasing engagement and motivation • Enhancing creativity and innovation, driving positive change and growth. How can we make a change? One of my main take aways from My Whole Self Day is that we all need to take action to address the root causes and issues that are creating these barriers in some workplaces, resulting in people not feeling comfortable to bring their whole self to work. We should be questioning whether our workplace offers a safe, non-judgemental environment for employees and what more can be done to improve this. MHFA England created a range of free resources for this years’ event, including some tools to help companies get involved, including this guide which you might find useful if you’re unsure where to start - My Whole Self: Guide to creating inclusive workplace cultures. It provides a range of practical tools for you to help create workplaces where everyone is respected and valued, and covers topics such as psychological safety, allyship, inclusive language, and mental health support. I hope you found this article useful and that it may spark some ideas on how you can work on enhancing your workplace culture for the benefit of both your team and your business. If you have any questions or would like to discuss further, please don’t hesitate to reach out to me on [email protected]. 11 SPRING PROTECT NEWSLETTER
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