Workplace wellbeing is focus of conference hosted by Lancashire charity

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A recent report from Deloitte published earlier this month, found that poor mental health costs UK employers up to £45bn each year.

On average, for every £1 spent on supporting their employee’s mental health, employers get £5 back on their investment in reduced absenteeism and staff turnover. The research also looked at how employers can tackle the problem, finding that it pays to support employees’ mental health. Greater openness in discussing mental health at work, organisation-wide culture change and education all play a part.

Mental health charity Lancashire Mind who work across the county delivering a range of projects and initiatives in the workplace, are hosting their third annual Workplace Wellbeing conference at the Landmark Church in Preston on the 6th February.

The ‘Time to Talk About Wellbeing at Work’ conference will enable employers to share good practice and learn new strategies to improve emotional wellbeing in the workplace. The conference supports Time To Change's national campaign 'Time to Talk Day' which aims to tackle stigma and discrimination around mental health in the workplace.

Karen Arrowsmith, training lead at Lancashire Mind, said: “There has been a positive shift towards improving wellbeing in the workplace in recent years, however many companies are slow to implement initiatives.

“We hope that events such as this conference will help employers and give them the confidence to put these initiatives in place.

“Learning from other employers about their experience of supporting their workforce and meeting a range of organisations who can provide support and assistance can give employers the confidence to make the change in their own organisations.”

The keynote speaker at this year’s event is Dr Ian Fletcher from Lancaster University who specialises in Workplace Mental Health and Psychology Safety.

There will also be talks from Barclays Bank on their ‘This Is Me’ campaign and Lancashire Care on ‘Compassionate Leadership.  British Telecom will be alongside other companies taking part in our ‘lightening talks’ workshop sharing their good practice stories, as well as a market place where delegates can network and meet a range of organisations who can provide support and assistance

Click here for further information and registration details.