Trigger Warning: this news item includes a video which mentions suicide.
Mental Health Awareness Week (12-18 May) helps to raise awareness of the fact that everyone has mental health. It can vary from good to poor and be anywhere in-between. It can fluctuate over an hour, day, week, year. It can be impacted by our work, past experiences, and our life outside work, often a mix of all three.
However, despite the work of charities, including Mates in Mind, to raise awareness and understanding about mental health, and even though organisations have a legal duty of care to ensure the health (including mental health) and safety of their employees, the message still does not appear to be getting through.
In 2023/24, 776,000 workers experienced work-related stress, depression or anxiety (HSE). And yet, only 6% of men, and 4% of women, said that they would discuss their mental health experiences with their employer (Aviva).
Part of the reason the messages about mental health are not landing, are because we often cite statistics (like the ones above) rather than highlighting real life experiences of relatable individuals, like John. Through sharing his own mental health crisis, John is aiming to help break the stigma and encourage others to talk before it is too late:
John Pemberton, Scaffolder, Bilfinger UK explains why he wanted to share his story, “I was carrying a big weight all the time; everything was hard work and my marriage broke down. I didn’t recognise it. I just thought that’s how things are, I just had to get on with it. I was wrong about that mindset, but it happens really quickly, you can go from a bad day to a bad week, to a bad month, to being at a point where you don’t get much lower, and then you can find yourself in your car and not planning to get out of it alive. Luckily, I did. I got the support I needed and now I am passionate about encouraging everyone to support those around them. If you think someone is struggling, ask if they’re ok, ask if they’d like to talk, but don’t just leave it, let them know that you’re there whenever they need to talk.”
John stressed the importance of companies having available resources, “If you have a workforce who is happy and healthy, they’re going to be more productive, but also, caring about people creates a better environment to work in. You might have friends and families and work colleagues but sometimes you don’t want to talk to them, so to have resources like the ones from Mates in Mind - that’s great.”
Sam Downie, Managing Director, Mates in Mind, “One reason that people do not feel able to talk about mental health is the persistent stigma that surrounds it. At Mates in Mind, we know that by normalising conversations about mental health in the workplace (including management leading by example and sharing their experiences), learning to spot the signs of mental ill-health in yourself and your colleagues, having the confidence to start a conversation, ensuring line managers have the skills to respond with reasonable adjustments where necessary, and signposting support if required, can empower employees to access the support they need before they reach crisis point. This is why we are so grateful to John, for being so open about his experiences, because it is only through raising awareness and understanding, and putting good mental health at the heart of our workplace cultures, that we are able to address the negative misunderstanding that surrounds it and ensure work is good for workers’ mental health.”
Laura Hardie, Health and Wellbeing Advisor, Bilfinger UK, said, "At Bilfinger, we are deeply committed to supporting the mental health and wellbeing of our workforce - we believe that a healthy and happy workforce is the foundation of our success. By fostering an environment where mental health is openly discussed and supported, we aim to break the stigma and ensure that our employees feel empowered to seek help when needed.
"We are incredibly grateful to individuals like John Pemberton for sharing their personal experiences. John's courage in speaking out about his mental health journey has been instrumental in helping us create a more supportive and understanding workplace. Bilfinger has been dedicated to providing John and all our employees with the necessary resources and support, such as our partnership with Mates in Mind, which offers valuable tools and guidance for mental health.
"We hope that by sharing John's story and demonstrating our commitment to mental health, we can inspire other organisations, raise awareness and drive meaningful change within workplace cultures."
- ENDS -
Notes to Editor
Discover why the stigma surrounding mental health persists, and what organisations, individuals and communities can do to normalise talking about it and seeking help when needed in our blog: How to support the mental wellbeing of your team, through addressing the stigma.
What John’s colleagues said:
“John's certainly a big character and it just goes to show how life's struggles can affect even the happiest looking guys amongst the workforce.” Paul
“Someone reading this might feel they can open-up if they’ve been bottling things up inside, and their company may be able to support this and help them.” Richard