It's Mental Health Awareness Week from 15 to 21 May!

This year's theme is anxiety. Anxiety is a completely normal emotion that we all experience from time to time. However, for some people or at some times, feelings of anxiety can become uncontrollable or constant, sometimes with no apparent cause. 

Anxiety is extremely common. In a recent mental health survey carried out by the Mental Health Foundation on stress, anxiety and hopelessness over personal finances, a quarter of adults said they felt so anxious that it stopped them from doing the things they want to do some or all of the time.¹ Through a variety of techniques, anxiety can sometimes be made easier to manage and there are plenty of things that can be tried to prevent anxiety from becoming a problem that significantly impacts your life. The aim of focusing on anxiety for this year's Mental Health Awareness Week is to increase people's awareness and understanding of anxiety. 

Suffering from anxiety can have a huge impact on employees in the workplace and can show up in many guises: for example, an employee may turn down a promotion or other opportunity because it involves travel or public speaking; make excuses to get out of office social events; or struggle to meet deadlines. Employees may also feel embarrassed about suffering from anxiety, believing it makes them appear weak or incapable, and therefore be reluctant to admit that they are suffering to anyone at work. Whilst, of course, there is nothing to be embarrassed about, this can lead to people suffering in silence and so, over time, make the issue even worse. This is why Mental Health Awareness Week is seeking to open the conversation and raise awareness of anxiety, as well as other mental health conditions. 

Lots of businesses want to mark Mental Health Awareness Week in some way. Some ideas of how this can be done include:

• Wear It Green Day – During Mental Health Awareness Week 2023, the Mental Health Awareness Foundation is encouraging people to hold a Wear It Green Day on Thursday 18 May (though employers can arrange for the day to be held on any date). The idea is that employers encourage employees to come to the office wearing something green and, in return, make a small donation to a mental health charity. 
• Anxiety seminar/mental health workshop – Invite an expert to speak to the workforce about what anxiety is, how to manage it and how to be supportive of colleagues. 
• Email signatures – A special email signature could be implemented during the week to help raise awareness of the initiative. 
• Coffee morning – Invite employees to take a break from work, grab a coffee and come and chat with colleagues. Encouraging regular breaks at work is important, and a free coffee/snack is a good incentive to get employees to take some time and connect with each other. 
• Wellbeing day – Although this idea may not be possible in all workplaces, some employers have introduced a mandatory wellbeing day/s for employees. This takes the commitment to improving mental health at work well beyond Mental Health Awareness Week, and really demonstrates commitment to improving mental health. A wellbeing day could involve encouraging employees to step away from the laptop for the day and undertake other activities together that will contribute positively to their mental health, such as getting out in nature, participating in sports or crafts, or even volunteering. If a wellbeing day is not feasible, some employers are introducing a wellbeing hour. 
• Mindfulness and meditation class – Mindfulness is an excellent way to assist in managing anxiety. Employers could invite an expert to lead a class for employees. 
• Set employees wellbeing challenges – Employers could set employees a wellbeing challenge to complete for each day of Mental Health Awareness Week. One example of a set of challenges could be:
  • Monday – Physical: Get out of your desk chair and complete 10,000 steps!
  • Tuesday – Social: Take 20 minutes out of your workday to reach out to a colleague you have never spoken to before and have a chat! The power of social interaction on the mind should never be underestimated – remember a problem shared is a problem halved, so creating a wide support system at work is imperative!
  • Wednesday – Financial: Attend a Financial Management Webinar. Money worries can be a massive cause of anxiety and being able to manage your money is essential to avoiding these worries.
  • Thursday – Emotional: Take 20 minutes out your day to write down your worries. It's amazing how helpful just emptying out stresses onto paper can be, and it can help you concentrate much better without the thoughts flying around your head. 
  • Friday – Nutritional: It's five-a-day-Friday! Our diets can have a massive impact on our mental health. Try to consume five different pieces of fruit or veg today. 

However employers choose to mark Mental Health Awareness Week, it's important to remember that the message should extend beyond this singular week. Encourage senior leadership to be vocal about mental health, encourage employees to take breaks at work, encourage supervisors to ask employees how they are really doing in one-to-one catch ups, and try to respect employees' work/life balances. The discussion around mental health must be an ongoing and truly honest one to make a lasting impact. 

1. https://www.mentalhealth.org.uk/our-work/public-engagement/mental-health-awareness-week ↩