Lancashire Mind is calling for employers from across the county to contribute to its first Workplace Wellbeing conference. The event, entitled ‘Time to Talk About Wellbeing at Work’, is the first of its kind and is taking place with the aim of raising awareness of the value of workplace wellbeing and promoting the business case for supporting wellbeing at work. It will focus on simple and practical steps employers can take no matter their size or resource.
The full day conference, which will be held at the Preston Marriott Hotel on 8th February 2018, is being organised by Lancashire Mind in partnership with Lancashire Care Foundation Trust. Lancashire Mind is inviting delegates from varied sectors to attend and take part in a range of activities, including Employer Talks, Wellbeing Marketplace, interactive Workshops and more.
Lancashire Mind wants to hear from local employers who are willing to share their experiences achieving wellbeing at work by undertaking an employer talk. Each Employer Talk will run for around 15 minutes on one specific piece of good practice, offering inspiration and providing something others can learn from and translate into their own workplace.
The Wellbeing Marketplace will showcase the diversity of services and providers across the county, which employers can utilise to support the wellbeing of their staff. Lancashire Mind are also keen to hear from a wide range of services and suppliers from across Lancashire who would like to promote their service, raise their company profile, showcase their offers and build new contacts.
The conference is being offered as part of Lancashire Mind’s aspirational vision for Lancashire to be the beacon for mental wellbeing in the UK. Lancashire Mind is leading the way in the charitable sector by supporting workplaces to tackle mental wellbeing at work across the county, providing both affordable workforce and leader training and a forum to encourage employers to share good practice.
The event follows the announcement that new data extracted by NHS Digital from GP practices shows 31% of all fit notes issued between December 2014 and March 2017 were mental health related, making it the leading cause of absence from work. Poor mental health already costs UK employers £26 billion each year (Remploy, 2016), highlighting that supporting wellbeing at work should be high on the agenda for all workplaces.
Lauren Oakland, Interim Chief Executive at Lancashire Mind, said: “This conference will provide a unique opportunity for Lancashire Employers to learn from each other’s experiences, enabling implementation of simple strategies that make a real difference to employee mental health and business performance. At Lancashire Mind we provide a range of services to support workplace wellbeing to create a thriving Lancashire and welcome the backing of Lancashire Care Foundation Trust and partners in supporting this conference.”
