The Duke of Cambridge recently attended the Workplace Wellbeing Conference, to highlight the importance of mental wellbeing at work and introduce the new Heads Together workplace mental health initiative, created in partnership with Mind.

In his speech he said:

“Everyone in this room knows that while work can provide a great sense of fulfilment, it can – at times – be a significant source of stress and negatively impact our mental health.

Yet, data from the Heads Together campaign showed that the number of people who would feel able to talk to their HR departments about their mental health was a mere 2%. This illustrates a problem for businesses.”

and went on to say

“I am delighted that The Royal Foundation and Mind will be launching a new Workplace Wellbeing Programme in September to support employers across the country – in particular small to medium enterprises, who often struggle to find the resources to prioritise this issue.

The new programme will include an online portal of resources for employers, along with online SME Employee Training.”

More support for employers

The new workplace mental health initiative that is being developing with Mind includes a ‘Mental Health at Work’ website and online training that will aim to equip employees and managers with tools, training and a good understanding of mental wellbeing in order to create a healthy and supportive working environment.

You can read the full text of the speech here.

Heads Together

Heads Together is a mental health initiative spearheaded by The Duke and Duchess of Cambridge and Prince Harry, which combines a campaign to tackle stigma and change the conversation on mental health with fundraising for a series of innovative new mental health services.

You can read more about the initiative on the Heads Together website here.