by Charlotte Gurney
Volt has been recognized at an awards ceremony for its commitment to workplace wellbeing.
Volt was one of 119 organizations to take part in Mind’s sixth annual Workplace Wellbeing Index, and was recognized with a Gold Award, meaning it has successfully embedded mental health into its policies and practices and demonstrated a long-term, in-depth commitment to staff mental health.
Mind’s Workplace Wellbeing Index is a benchmark of best policy and practice, celebrating the good work employers are doing to promote and support positive mental health, and providing key recommendations on the specific areas where there is room to improve.
The online event, hosted by Mind’s Chief Executive Paul Farmer, took place on the 23 June and saw people from a wide range of organizations come together to celebrate the awards.
Every employer depends on having healthy and productive employees – valued and supported staff are far more likely to perform better and achieve peak performance. Mental health problems are common among employees. Mind surveyed almost 42,000 employees across the 119 employers participating in the Index. The Index 2021-22 has seen a mix of returning organizations eager to assess the impact of their newly implemented wellbeing initiatives as well as first-time organizations starting their journey to improve employee wellbeing.
Emma Mamo, Head of Workplace Wellbeing at Mind, said:
“Over the last year, Covid-19 has continued to affect our lives and in particular the way we work, and it is reassuring that, in its sixth year, the Workplace Wellbeing Index continues to be the foremost benchmark of best policy and practice for supporting mental health at work.
“I’m pleased to see the number of organisations participating in the Index continue to increase annually with 41,927 staff from 119 organisations across the UK taking part this year. Change has continued to be one of the few constants across workplaces in recent times and whilst this provides the opportunity for improved ways of working, getting to grips with the ‘new normal’ can, at times, be difficult for employers and employees alike.
“The shift to remote working during the pandemic brought about significant challenges to many of us but for people who are neurodivergent this change could be particularly difficult to navigate. Evidence has also shown that Covid-19 has exacerbated the health and economic impacts for people from racialised communities and women in the UK[1][2] These additional stresses and an increased focus on diversity, equity and inclusion in the workplace more broadly has shone a light on the importance of topics such as intersectionality more than ever before. With all of this in mind, there is a growing need for employers to offer mental health and wellbeing support that considers the unique experiences and needs of each staff member.”
[1]https://committees.parliament.uk/publications/4597/documents/46478/default/
[2]https://post.parliament.uk/impact-of-covid-19-on-different-ethnic-minority-groups/