What is This is Me?
Developed in London by the Lord Mayor’s Appeal, alongside partners including Mind, Barclays and Time to Change, This is Me is a pioneering mental health campaign which aims to reduce the stigma around mental health in the workplace, dispel myths around poor mental health and raise awareness of the importance of wellbeing.
Since launching in London in 2016, This is Me has gone on to be launched in Scotland and the North West so far, with over 500 companies registered, reaching more than one million employees.
Why is This is Me important for the West Midlands?
This is Me is being launched in the West Midlands as a fantastic way to help employers support mental health in the workplace. Poor mental health is a significant challenge for the West Midlands, especially within workplaces - 4.1 million working days are lost each year because of poor mental health, costing over £1.5 billion through absenteeism and what has come to be known as presenteeism - being at work while ill.
Addressing poor workplace mental health is important, and the This is Me campaign is a great way to achieve this. It aims to support employers to build understanding and awareness in their organisations and provide a platform for employees who have experienced poor mental health to share their stories with others.
Supporting employees’ mental health is not only the right thing to do, but can also help create more profitable workplaces through reduced absenteeism and improved productivity.
Read about how Gowling WLG, a law firm based in Birmingham, has found the impact of joining the This is Me campaign:
“Making our This is Me video took us on our own journey. We learned how keen our people were to talk about their mental health issues and we saw for ourselves the impact of the video when it went out.”
“We had nothing but positive, supportive feedback from colleagues, saluting those who had taken part in the video and saying how it had given them the confidence to talk about issues they might be experiencing and to reach out for help – help that the firm is keen to give.”
A message from Andy Street, Mayor of the West Midlands:
“I am very pleased to support the launch of This is Me in the West Midlands. This is Me has already had a positive impact across the UK and look forward to building on this in our region”.
“This is Me is a fantastic opportunity for organisations to be supported in normalising conversations about mental health, creating workplace cultures that are supportive and open, which together, will enhance the health and wellbeing of employees in the West Midlands”.
Sign up below
Click here to sign up to This is Me, after registering you will receive your free This is Me West Midlands Guide, you can order green ribbons and get access to free Samaritans Wellbeing E-learning.
FAQ's
This is Me is an umbrella campaign that brings together key mental health initiatives, including but not limited to:
- Time to Change (Mind, Rethink mental illness)
- Green Ribbon (Mental Health Foundation)
- Wellbeing in the City (Samaritans)
- Thrive at Work (West Midland Combined Authority Mental Health Commission)
This is Me will help your organisation meet goals of other initiatives you may already be signed up to, such as the Thrive at Work Wellbeing Programme or the Time to Change Pledge.
The This is Me campaign provides easy and achievable steps to help your organisation improve and support mental health in your workplace. The campaign is made up of three key goals:
- Storytelling:
- Encouraging employees to share videos of themselves talking about their mental health.
- Green Ribbon Campaign:
- Inviting employees to wear the Green Ribbon during Mental Health Awareness Week to show those struggling that there is support and they are not alone and to create a visible movement of support for ending mental health stigma.
- Samaritans Online Learning Resource
- Sharing the Samaritans Online Learning Resource with employees to teach people skills to manage their own emotional health and look out for others, before they reach crisis point.
Organisations who register to This is Me are supported every step of the way with a free ‘How to’ guide and are also able to connect with organisations who have already signed up to the campaign who can provide advice and support.
Joining the campaign helps demonstrate to your employees that your organisation is committed to building a supportive culture that is fighting to reduce mental health stigma in the workplace. 97% of organisations with registered This is Me believe the campaign has had a positive impact on reducing the stigma.
This is Me helps organisations look after employee mental wellbeing, which can help improve levels of engagement, staff morale, loyalty and productivity, leading to more profitable workplaces.
