Employers in the county are being challenged to change attitudes and behaviours around mental health in workplaces – by signing up to an employer pledge.
Businesses are being invited to a Time to Change West Sussex employers’ event in October to hear about the pledge and how it is already changing how people think and act about mental health in the workplace.
Earlier this year, West Sussex became one of the first counties to become a Time to Change hub, supported by West Sussex County Council, Coastal West Sussex Mind, Sussex Partnership NHS Foundation Trust and a range of other agencies, to lead the movement in West Sussex.
Time to Change is a government-supported movement to change attitudes and behaviours around mental health across the UK.
Amanda Jupp, West Sussex County Council’s Cabinet Member for Adults and Health, said: “Mental health conditions still have so many stigmas attached to them yet one in four British workers are affected by conditions like anxiety, depression and stress each year.
“This means that nearly every West Sussex business will have been touched by mental health at some stage so we are challenging them to make this simple pledge and support their staff.”
Katie Glover, Coastal West Sussex Mind’s chief executive, said: “The pledge is a tool which can be used by businesses to make a real difference and ensure that employees who face these problems feel supported.
“Signing the pledge makes business sense – 95% of employers who have signed said it had a positive impact on their organisation.
“Mental health is an issue you cannot afford to ignore. New findings just reported in the media show that one in three ‘sick notes’ give mental health as the reason for absence, making it the leading cause for time off work in the UK.”
The Time to Change West Sussex employers’ event will take place around World Mental Health Day on 13 October at Horsham’s County Hall North from 9.30am to 1pm.
To book, visit www.eventbrite.co.uk and search ‘Time to Change West Sussex Employer Pledge’.
