Promoting a workplace culture, which supports emotional, psychological and social wellbeing, is a priority for New Directions and is essential to the support and motivation of our staff. 10th October is World Mental Health Day and so we will be sharing our resources once again to help staff deal with, and process their feelings better. The mental health of our staff has a massive impact on the running of a charity and so an open door policy for all line managers and being able to share and unburden concerns with the team brings us all closer together, in turn improving the work that we do. New Directions already offers a wealth of support mechanisms and we are always thinking about what else we can offer in the future.
New Directions’ staff are dedicated to their work and passionate about maintaining our standards, which can be very emotionally rewarding and demanding. Being able to talk to others, feel part of a cohesive team and knowing that your workplace supports you is fundamental to the mental health of our staff. Our management team have also attended informal training with MIND, which helps them to support staff experiencing mental health problems. They can offer flexible working and compassionate leave for those going through difficult times. As a charity, we invest in the mental health of our staff and provide access to a free and confidential employee assistance programme (EAP). This EAP can provide support from trained counsellors 24 hours a day, 365 days a year, by telephone or face to face. This support can cover challenges in the workplace or home life for staff and their immediate families.
We understand that mental health relies on many aspects of our wellbeing so we also offer a reduced rate, voluntary healthcare cash plan. This enables people to claim back the costs of various healthcare appointments that affect our physical and mental health like physiotherapy, osteopathy and reflexology. Mental health is at the core of our values so with all the schemes we provide and our online staff intranet page signposting staff to resources and helpful organisations we offer a holistic approach, empathetic communications and remove the taboo of discussing mental health in our workplace.
If you would like to find out more about becoming a Support Worker at New Directions and to apply online click here
