Monument business park near Oxford tries out mental health first aiders

The mental wellbeing commitment is Jennings’ response to a growing problem in the UK. Over 15 million working days are lost every year nationally because of mental health problems. Work-related issues are known to contribute to anxiety, stress and depression. The most commonly mentioned causes are pressures of workload, tight deadlines, too much responsibility and a lack of managerial support.

Jennings’ Centre manager Donna McKnight, one of two staff trained so far, said: “I was already trained in First Aid but had also found myself helping people with anxiety and stress at work. However, I really didn’t know if I was doing the right thing.”

After an intensive training course she said she was better equipped to recognise the signs that someone may be struggling with mental health problems and know how to respond.

She added: “The most extreme thing would be spotting someone who could be a danger to themselves, but mostly I am now far more aware of the tell-tale signs that something might be wrong.

"Things can go unnoticed like changes in behaviour, not eating, losing weight, being over-tired, turning up late for work or being easily distracted or unusually aggressive or emotional.”

“We’re definitely not trained psychologists, but we are here to have a conversation, listen and make suggestions about where to get help. These are important first steps. We can be there before any professional is involved.”

Jennings believe that having staff who are more aware of mental wellbeing can be a benefit to their tenants and the 600 people working at Monument Park. Amongst the 80 businesses on the site, many only employ a few people where it can be difficult to be open with colleagues.

“We meet and speak with tenants all the time, so as a mental health first aider I can be someone to talk to without fear of being judged. We’d never give people the answers, but we can prompt them to find what is right for themselves.”

The Health and Safety Executive reported last year that stress, depression or anxiety accounted for 44 per cent of all work-related ill health cases and 57 per cent of all working days lost due to ill health.

Two groups are known to be particularly susceptible: young people often pushing hard to establish a career and older people feeling vulnerable about job security.

Jennings tenants, software developers NewOrbit, are based at Monument Park and have also taken steps to be alert to mental health issues in their team of 35.

Laura Lewis, a business support manager at the company, has also trained to be a mental health first aider.

Her company wanted their employees to know there was someone they could talk to openly.

She said: “We have a bright, intelligent team working to achieve things that have never been done before, which can be stressful. Combine that with timescale deadlines and it can mean people put themselves under pressure.

"Even more than before, we actively encourage colleagues to agree realistic milestones, go home on time and take breaks. We are generally developing a more open atmosphere in the office when it comes to mental health.”

Ms McKnight added: “It would be great if other companies took the same approach. There are still many people too embarrassed to share mental health issues.”

A charging point for electric cars has been installed at the business park.