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Health & Safety Once, this was the question you asked out of politeness, you certainly didn’t want to hear a list of ailments in reply. If someone asked it of you, you’d report robust good health even if you’d got both legs in plaster. These days, we are much more honest and likely as not, the question is asked to include mental health as well as physical. HOWARE YOU? 26 www.thefis.org E VEN before COVID, we were becoming more knowledgeable about poor mental health, comfortable about discussing it and more cognisant of early warning signs and symptoms of it beginning to decline. The term covers a multitude of conditions but for the purposes of this article, we are concentrating on mental health at work – how employers can support their employees. We spoke to some experts in well-known industry companies to see how they care for their employees’ mental health. These are all big companies, but there will be bits of advice that can be incorporated into companies of all sizes. Encon Group The World Health Organization defines ‘mental health’ as ‘a state of wellbeing in which every individual realises his or her own potential, can cope with the normal stresses of life, work productively and fruitfully and is able to make a contribution to her or his community.’ Deborah Gore is HR HSEQ (Health, Safety, Environmental and Quality) Director at Encon, she said: “Feeling stressed or anxious or having more serious conditions such as depression or even suicidal thoughts, can manifest themselves in many different ways. So, it can be very helpful to be aware of when you start to struggle, what triggers these feelings and behaviours and what actions you can take to change how you feel. “Think about having a ‘stress container’ which will continue to fill unless there is a valve for the overflow – if everything gets too much you may start to suffer from poor mental health symptoms. “The flow out of the ‘stress container’ can be helped by making a conscious effort to do things we enjoy or that enables us to relax. Simple things like reading a book, having a bath or going for a walk can help us to de-stress from daily pressures.” Knauf’s lunchtime virtual chats encourage colleagues to take a break and re-connect with work friends

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