Category: News
New data from The Mental Health Toolkit, released to mark Mental Health Awareness Week, showed full-time workers saw an improvement in all of their Physical and Emotional Needs from April 1 2024 to March 31 this year.
More than 2,050 people across Suffolk have taken part in the Emotional Needs Audit in the past year, which sees them measure the way they meet their needs from 3 (well met) to -3 (not at all). A score of 1 is considered ‘met’.
People in full time work have reported significant improvements in the average scores across their emotional needs, including the need for Status (+0.90 points), Value (+0.99 points) and Meaning and Purpose (+1.12 points), and Community (+0.99 points), which had previously been the second least met need of all, after Sleep.
A similar picture was seen among part-time and self-employed workers – who meet their needs on average better than others
Relationship Manager Wendy Sheppard said: “it’s fantastic to see so many improvements across the Emotional Needs this year.
“Community especially is a need that many of us across the county have felt unable to meet in recent years, with everything from the coronavirus pandemic to cuts to local community organisations leading to people feeling more isolated.
“Continuing on this upward trend could have a big positive impact on the lives of thousands of workers across our county.”
Just five needs were actually considered met however – to Give Attention, Privacy, Close Relationships, Emotional Connection and Achievement.
The least met need continues to be Sleep, followed by Movement and Food and Drink
Wendy added: “While seeing such great improvements across the board is a cause for optimism, there is still concern in how few needs are actually being met.
“We know that meeting our Emotional Needs keeps us in a state of mental wellbeing – something not just crucial for the workplace, but our daily lives.
“It’s therefore so important that people look into the ways they can better meet their needs, and a great way to do that is through The Mental Health Toolkit.”
The Mental Health Toolkit is Suffolk Mind’s training arm, delivering in-person and online sessions for businesses and their employees across the country
Gabriella Dalling, Business Development Manager at AAI Freight Services, who has received The Mental Health Toolkit training, said: “I found the Mental Health Toolkit to be an excellent resource for learning and self-reflection.
“It can be used beyond work and applied to our personal lives, after all, burnout helps no one.
“This course is an eye-opener with excellent content and perfect delivery by the team.”
With Mental Health Awareness Week highlighting the importance of mental health education, there’s no better time to book an Introduction to the Mental Health Toolkit talk.
Suffolk Mind and The Mental Health Toolkit (TMHTK) are making workplace mental health education more accessible through the launch of new training packages.
The four new packages all aim to upskill and instill positive change in businesses nationwide in a more cost-effective way.
The launch was marked with a packed-out breakfast networking event at Venue 16 in Ipswich.
Jon Neal, CEO of Suffolk Mind, said: “Since launching The Mental Health Toolkit in 2022 we have been overwhelmed by the response from businesses both in Suffolk and the wider UK.
“Research by Deloitte has shown that for every £1 invested in the workplace, a business receives a minimum of £4.70 in return.
“We’re talking about reductions in staff absences, improvements in productivity and performance – all with the added benefit of supporting mental health.
“Yet still mental ill health costs UK employers a combined £51 billion a year, a figure which could drastically lower should more businesses engage in mental health training.
“It really is such a rewarding investment for any business to make – and something I would wholeheartedly implore them to do.”
The four separate packages, Base Camp, Explorer, Pioneer and Summit, build on one another and are tailored to the needs of different organisations and teams – including those working in management or human resources. Some also include regular reviews with a TMHTK Account Manager to provide further support beyond the initial courses.
All training delivered by The Mental Health Toolkit uses the Emotional Needs and Resources approach endorsed by Suffolk Mind – with each package including posters and graphic resources for businesses to display to their staff.
Lynn Rozier, one of the Directors of Blue Star Human Resources who sponsored the event, said the packages are also proving beneficial for HR professionals whose needs are often overlooked.
She added: “We were delighted to have been invited to sponsor and speak at today’s launch event.
“The services provided by The Mental Health Toolkit are extremely valuable to businesses – they are very straightforward and really help managers gain a better understanding of mental health.
“We are fully behind their message of making mental health education more accessible.”
According to Suffolk Mind research, less than a fifth of full-time workers in are getting enough sleep.
Just 16.9% of 7,317 full-time workers surveyed said they are getting a healthy amount of sleep, which is one of every person’s 12 physical and emotional needs.
The figure was revealed as part of Suffolk Mind’s Emotional Needs Audit, an ongoing survey into the county’s mental health
Common barriers workers reported to sleep included their work situation (42.18% of respondents) and their workload (28.19%). The most prevalent was their overall physical and mental health at 54.1%.
Ezra Hewing, Head of Mental Health Education at Suffolk Mind, said the findings showcase the need for better mental health support in the workplace.
Ezra said: “All of us know the feeling of coming into work after a bad night’s sleep.
“Sleep is incredibly important to both our physical and mental health – so coming into the office when your mind and body haven’t had ample time to rest can be detrimental both to an employee’s wellbeing and a business’ overall output.
“There are so many factors behind the things that get in the way of a healthy sleep, but a great place to start – as highlighted in the barriers respondents have reported – is in the office.”
The Mental Health Toolkit offers a suite of training aimed at supporting workplace wellbeing
The Supporting Mental Health course helps build a healthy relationship between team members, directly influencing productivity, motivation and engagement while equipping people with the tools to better understand and manage their mental health.
Ezra added: “It is important change begins at the top to help build a more supportive management structure that’s in touch with the needs of its workforce.
“While workplace training isn’t going to help improve sleep overnight, it is a great first step in relieving the stresses staff may feel while helping them better understand their mental health.”
We are thrilled to share that our founder, Jon Neal, has been named Director of the Year at the recent East Anglian Daily Times Business Awards.
Jon, who has been instrumental in the growth of our parent company Suffolk Mind since his arrival in 2016, was shortlisted in recognition of his impact on the county’s mental health picture and his support for staff and volunteers.
Judges commended his active approach to leadership, excellent fundraising efforts and the great strides he has made to make Suffolk the best place in the world to talk about and take care of mental health.
Speaking following his win, Jon was full of praise for both the Suffolk Mind and The Mental Health Toolkit teams
He said: “It is a huge honour to win such a prestigious award, which wouldn’t have been possible without the incredible team surrounding me at The Mental Health Toolkit who make me so proud every single day.
“Together we are devoted to our mission of making Suffolk the best place in the world to talk about and take care of mental health, and continue to make great strides every day through our community outreach and training services.”
Achievements throughout Jon’s tenure so far include the launch of The Mental Health Toolkit and overseeing a fundraising revolution to safely navigate the coronavirus pandemic.
Last year we delivered 211 workshops to 54 businesses, totalling more than 900 hours of training.
That work saw us gain numerous positive reviews from businesses across the country, from law firms to councils and digital marketing agencies.
Reflecting on an incredible year, Jon also thanked his fellow finalists – alongside all those behind the scenes to host the ceremony.
He said: “My thanks go to the judges, organisers, and the sponsors of the awards, which achieve so much in raising the profile of some outstanding employers in Suffolk.
“Most of all, my thanks go to the awesome team of staff and volunteers at The Mental Health Toolkit.”
More information on the scale of our work can be found in Suffolk Mind’s 2023 Impact Report.