Time to Talk Day

At SSEN Transmission, we are working to create a culture where mental health can be championed and talked about openly.

Today we’re taking part in Time to Talk Day, the nation’s biggest mental health conversation, where we’re encouraging all staff to take time out of their day to talk, listen and start opening up about mental health.

Time to Talk Day is run by Mind and Rethink Mental Illness in England, in Scotland by See Me, with SAMH (Scottish Association for Mental Health), by  Inspire and Change Your Mind in Northern Ireland and Time to Change Wales.

We’re supporting the event by encouraging our teams to pick up the phone or schedule in some time to have a chat over a cuppa about mental health.  

We want to create a workplace where the stigma around mental health is removed and that it’s ok for us to talk – that’s why we’ve implemented various ways in which we support our people’s mental health across the business.  

Wellbeing Cafes

We run weekly Wellbeing Cafes where topics including stress or motivation can be discussed openly and honestly, with guest speakers invited to help contribute to the conversation twice a month.  Originally the cafes were set up to provide support to our colleagues during the covid lockdown, but have proven to be so successful that we continue to run them beyond the parameters of the pandemic.  So far over 60 sessions have taken place, and are well attended by teams each week.

They provide an opportunity to engage with each other about a wide variety of topics, providing support and a chance to talk about anything that is bothering them, or simply listen to the discussion that week.

Mental Health First Aiders

We’ve trained 33 team members as mental health first aiders, who are able to help provide support and assistance to colleagues when required, and have plans to train even more throughout the year.  Together they can help provide a confidential callback service, where any team member who is concerned about a colleague or has been struggling with their own mental health, can reach out in total confidentiality to provide support.

Employee Assistance Programme

Our Employee Assistance Programme is available to anyone in our teams who needs a little bit of extra support, which can be called upon 24 hours day in total confidence.

Thrive App

Thrive is an app which helps prevent and manage stress, anxiety and related conditions. The game-based app can be used to relax before a stressful situation or on a more regular basis to help you live a happier, most stress-free life.  We’ve made the app, which has been approved by the NHS, free for all of our team members so they can help use it outside of work too. 

Open Culture

We want to create an open culture where mental health is supported at every turn.  Talking about mental health reduces stigma, helping to create supportive communities where we can talk openly about mental health and feel empowered to seek help when we need it.

Talking about mental health doesn’t need to be awkward, that’s why opening up the conversation about mental health problems is so important – by talking about it we can support ourselves and others.

 

However you do it, start your conversation about mental health this Time to Talk Day.