How can we make our workplaces more mentally healthy?

IPOS Mediation

hosted a webinar on 24 September 2021 to discuss mental health in today’s reality and how we can make workplaces more inclusive and mentally healthy places.

Henrietta Jackson-Stops, Mediator and Partner at IPOS Mediation introduced the webinar and the panellists for what turned out to be a fascinating discussion.

The Rt Honourable the Lord Mayor of London William Russell kicked off the session, sharing his keen interest in improving mental health in the workplace. He reinforced the need to lift the stigma around mental health issues and suggested that Boards of Directors should be considering a regular Board item of Mental Health and Wellbeing. William also shared stories about the ‘This is me’ campaign of storytelling around mental health.

Dr Lynda Shaw - Neuroscientist, Business Psychologist, Change Specialist, and author of “Your Brain is Boss” talked about the impact of the pandemic such as our felling of not being in control and other impacts which trigger our flight or fight response. Lynda suggested a number of practical actions that individuals could take to bring about a greater feeling of control in our lives.

Susan Bright, the Global Managing Partner for Diversity & Inclusion (D&I) and Responsible Business at Hogan Lovells, and Board member at the City Mental Health Alliance, talked about the actions her firm has taken to create a workplace where people can thrive. Susan made a number of suggestions about how organisations can operate in the hybrid working world, both at a team and individual level.

David A Evans, IPOS mediator shared his experience of successfully using workplace mediation to address the conflict between colleagues, and the importance of early intervention to resolve conflict and prevent mental health issues arising. David introduced a new offering from IPOS – a much more flexible form of mediation for cases where employees are off work due to mental illness, particularly where their stress has been caused by the workplace.

A recording of the webinar is available to view here.

Further information about IPOS' mental health absence mediation service is available here.