Mental Wellbeing:
Changing The Stigma

“There is undoubtedly a strong and supportive culture at OnlineDirect, however, I am acutely aware that the pandemic has been challenging for us all”, says David Coombs, CEO at OnlineDIRECT thoughtfully as he considers his reason for providing mental health training for his management team.  “I feel it’s incredibly important to ensure the management team is equipped with the essential skills and training, to not only be able to provide their teams with the best support, but also be aware of their own mental wellbeing.”

The entire management team at OnlineDIRECT took part in the MHFA Champion training course with MHFA England last week, equipping each of our leaders with the ability to spot worsening mental health among team members and be that go-to person to provide support for their team members.

Keisha Kole, Recruitment and HR Advisor said, “I thoroughly enjoyed the course which covered a broad range of mental health issues including how to understand and recognise causes, identifying early symptoms, and how to approach and provide the right support. Overall, I have come away feeling empowered and confident to support others by initiating open conversations, listening without judgment, and playing a positive part in changing the stigma associated with mental health in both my professional and personal life. It’s great to work for a company that prioritises having a mentally healthy workplace and ensuring all staff has the support they need at all times.”

Ryan Goodman, IT Manager echoes Keisha’s sentiment, commenting, “The MHFA course provided us with some fantastic resources to support not only our colleague’s mental health but also our own. The course gives us the tools to provide the right information at the right time, to assist the teams in any way we can.  Everyone has days where things are too much, and now we have more of an understanding of what the triggers could be and providing us to support them through those days.”

“I found the listening non-judgementally and recognising the early signs exercises incredibly valuable. It was a perfect blend of theory and practical sessions that has given me the confidence to further support my team members and colleagues” reflects Liam Teske, Business Intelligence and Risk Manager.

We are incredibly thankful to the management team for taking part in the initiative to provide everyone at OnlineDIRECT a safe and supportive working environment.