On 10 October 2021, we marked World Mental Health Day with this year’s theme being ‘Mental health in an unequal world’.
Last year, we reported on the importance of mental health, particularly during the COVID-19 pandemic. This update is available here.
To recap, here are some of the measures we continue to take as a firm to improve the mental wellbeing of our staff:
Collaboration
As staff are returning to the office on a more frequent basis, the firm are encouraging staff to ‘re-connect’ with colleagues. This is also available remotely via Microsoft Teams. For the second year running, we have partnered with Bromley, Lewisham and Greenwich Mind (BLG Mind) who provide mental health and dementia support in the local community with the overarching goal of improving the quality of life for people that use their services. BLG Mind have provided presentations to staff and we are adding to the number of Mental Health First Aiders in both Greenwich and Blackheath to provide emotional support when required.
Support
We have a 24/7 Employee Assistance Programme, a confidential service that all staff have access to. This provides practical support and guidance for any work-related issues and personal problems that a member of staff may be facing.
We also promote the services of Law Care, who provide emotional support, training, and information to staff across the firm. As an additional service to the Employee Assistance Programme, Law Care provides support via a confidential helpline, web chat and one-to-one peer support networks.
Exercise
The firm has also invested in exercise classes that staff can join live or participate in on demand. During the 2020/21 charity challenge, staff from across the firm took part in an online yoga session, a 100km running challenge and a 200km distance challenge in March 2021 and we are putting plans in place for a trekking challenge for early 2022. Stay tuned for further details.
For more information on World Mental Health Day and the services offered by the Mental Health Foundation including their £2 million Covid Response Programme, please click here.