BLUESTONE National Park Resort has announced its commitment to tackling mental health stigma and discrimination in the workplace by signing the Time to Change Wales pledge.
The business, which is Pembrokeshire’s second largest employer, signed the pledge at the Pembrokeshire resort on World Mental Health Day, to show that the business is taking action to reduce mental health discrimination in the workplace.
Time to Change Wales (TTCW) is run by the leading mental health charities Hafal, Gofal and Mind Cymru. These three organisations decided to work together, combining their knowledge, skills and expertise, in the biggest attempt yet in Wales to end the discrimination that surrounds mental health.
Debbie Rainbow, Bluestone’s Director of Human Resources and Health and safety, said: “We have around 700 employees at Bluestone and the health and wellbeing of our workforce is extremely important to us.
“We are committed to promoting good mental health throughout the organisation and are proud to be a Time to Change Wales Pledge organisation helping to tackle mental health stigma and discrimination in Wales.”
The pledge is backed by a comprehensive action plan detailing the tangible anti-stigma activity the organisation intends to deliver. Bluestone has announced a number of measures including creating a network of Time to Change Wales champions across its 16 departments, holding a mental health awareness week, mental health first aid training for staff and a range of wellbeing activities.
Lowri Wyn Jones Programme Manager at TTCW said mental health problems are more common than most people realise and in any one year one in six of the Welsh Workforce will experience a mental health problem, and nine out of 10 of those will experience stigma.
“We are delighted that Bluestone has signed this pledge, and by doing so is making a commitment to provide the best possible environment for those with mental ill health and equip staff with support.
“TTCW aims to break down the stigma and discrimination in relation to mental health across all areas of Welsh society and this includes the workplace. By signing the pledge, you are demonstrating a commitment to working in partnership with the campaign to embed our values and principles and deliver anti-stigma initiatives. We are honoured that Bluestone has signed the pledge and we look forward to working with them as a member of a growing band of organisations that are pledging across Wales to end mental health stigma and discrimination across their workplaces.”
Bluestone’s CEO, William McNamara said: “Bluestone’s philosophy is that every person counts and that, by creating the conditions for and engaged and motivated workforce, it is possible to deliver an exceptional product.
A part of this approach is a genuine care for our employees’ health, safety and wellbeing, this includes physical and mental health, utilising our wellbeing programme initiatives. A conscientious business will recognise that help is sometimes needed to deal with the challenges employees may face, in or out of work, and we provide non-judgemental support. We actively promote awareness of mental health issues and endeavour to create a culture where employees feel they can talk openly about mental health and seek the support they require. We are proud to be signing this pledge. We have come a long way in developing our mental health and wellbeing programme and I look forward to seeing how this develops in the future.”
You can find out about Time to Change Wales by visiting www.timetochangewales.org.uk.
