Mental health coaching company Sanctus has launched its ‘Bring Your Full Self to Work’ pledge to mark World Mental Health Day 2017.
Its co-founder James Routledge discusses how the ‘radical yet practical’ pledge came about in a podcast with BusinessCloud, along with what it actually means for businesses.
The Shoreditch-based company wants to see a world where mental health is treated in exactly the same way as physical health.
It believes that once a company has a good culture around mental health then employees can bring their whole selves to work.
The pledge encourages businesses to discuss mental and physical wellbeing in one-to-one conversations, allow mental health days for staff and ensure that mental health issues aren’t a permanent barrier to career progression.
It tries to go further than other campaigns and encourage employers to really change the culture at work.
The pledge’s founding signatories include Red Bull, education technology company Makers Academy and recruitment firm Cranberry Panda.
This year’s World Mental Health Day focuses on the workplace.
“Anyone can change the way they approach mental health in the workplace,” co-founder James Routledge says in the podcast.
“We wanted to do something special for mental health in the workplace that any employer could sign up to.
“There’s a lot of talk about the topic at the moment but not a massive amount of action or practical tips that employers can do to give it the respect it deserves.”
Routledge, who spoke about tech and mental health for the latest edition of BusinessCloud, also believes that improving your company’s mental health ethos can make you more desirable for new hires who are increasingly attracted by a business’s culture.
“Companies can revolutionise their approach and it costs them nothing, it’s just a change in approach and creating an open environment,” he says.
Routledge goes on to talk about employer accountability and Sanctus’ role championing change in businesses.
“We’re all learning how to use the right language around mental health and putting our own feelers out there,” he says.
“People are going to make mistakes and the more we talk about it the better.”
In our podcast Routedge talks through what the pledge outlines, the culture of burnout in tech and why ‘stigma’ maybe isn’t the best word to use.