An incredible campaign by Heads Together and The FA on the presence and impact of mental health in society. The collaboration focuses on viewing the importance of mental health as equal to that of physical wellbeing and encouraging people to take responsibility for their mental health rather than shying away from it.

By introducing a thought process which compares a game of football to our day-to-day life and how setbacks can put our mental health to the test, Heads Up aims to raise awareness, encourage conversation and create a support network for those in need.

This relevant and topical thinking can be just as easily related to your organisation and your team. Here are a couple of takeaways that we can implement to help create a working environment that is both safe, supportive and productive. 

• Go in for the tackle! Give your employees the opportunity and environment to effectively manage their stress. This can be done by allowing them to be in control of their success and potential in their careers. By giving employees the control to manage their workload and schedule you can reduce absenteeism, boost morale and reduce employee turnover
• Referee's rule is final!  HR is a great neutral ground for employees to turn to and can play an invaluable process in assisting organisations to promote mental health care in the workplace. Ensure that you have a policy in place which explains the disclosure process to HR as well as the rights of the employee and responsibilities of HR. By offering reasonable accommodation measures and support, employees are more likely to disclose any mental health issues and can better manage them in line with their workload
• Substitutions keep your team performance up. We don't mean you should be substituting current employees for new ones. We simply mean that in any circumstance it is good to take a break. We can all quickly become wrapped up in our work and day-to-day tasks that we often forget to take a break and come up for air. Perhaps consider implementing a policy where each employee needs to take a minimum of a 30-minute break throughout the day. This gives them this time to rest and reset and means that they will be more productive and efficient when they come back

As a business, your responsibilities to your employees include having their best interests in mind and this relates to both their mental and physical wellbeing. “So, together, let’s help the change to game on mental health.” - Prince William