World Mental Health Day: 10th October 2022
As we acknowledge World Mental Health Day (10th October), it’s a timely opportunity to highlight EPIC Risk Management’s commitment to wellbeing and positive mental health among its staff – as recognised via the results of a very encouraging recent survey.
Putting people at the heart of everything we do is a key mantra of the organisation, and as such, putting their welfare at the forefront of our thinking is crucial.
The establishment of a wellbeing committee has ensured that EPIC employees enjoy access to regular social events, financial advice, health benefits and numerous other rewards throughout the year, including matching the government’s £400 cost of living payment to help staff cope with rising utility bills. The working environment itself is also crucial to creating the perfect conditions for the individual to thrive, with engagement and feedback welcome, most notably through our annual workplace wellbeing survey.
The summer 2022 survey was the most enlightening report to date, as it was the second time the survey had been conducted; creating a yardstick against the first report and some very positive responses.
Notably, every single member of staff in the company agreed with the premise when asked to confirm if ‘this workplace is a psychologically and emotionally healthy work environment’.
It was a similarly unanimous 100% acceptance rate to the statement that ‘my organisation puts in effort in promoting mental and physical health among its employees’ – a heartening response that crept up from an already high response rate of 96% positive replies in 2021.
Another statement to which staff unanimously agreed was ‘my organisation genuinely puts employee wellbeing as a priority’; to which 83% had answered positively a year earlier.
“To be in the best frame of mind to produce their best work, it is important that we look after our staff and ensure they know that we are here to support them whenever they need us,” says Pippa Robson, EPIC’s wellbeing and events manager.
“Whilst it goes without saying that we encourage good listening and communication within teams, proactive offers of help to one another and all the different ways that colleagues can be a support network to produce quality outcomes in the workplace, there are also many reasons to look out for the individual in other ways.
“That is why we’re keen to reach out with specialist financial advice or proactive health benefits for staff, among many other wonderful initiatives, because happier and better supported individuals will be far more likely to retain a positive frame of mind and stay healthy in both a physical and mental sense.
“We have been tremendously encouraged by an excellent set of results from this year’s workplace wellbeing survey and will strive to maintain and improve all the areas in which we appear to be succeeding, so that the wellbeing and mental health of our team remains as positive as it can be.”
Paul Buck, CEO of EPIC Risk Management, endorses Pippa’s thoughts by explaining the company’s decision to prioritise methods that aim to ensure that staff are uplifted and supported, explaining:
“Putting the wellbeing of the individual is at the heart of the company’s ethos and we strive to champion initiatives that foster a positive effect on the mental health of our staff.
“It is clear in so many cases that poor mental health can be seen to play a negative role in increasing susceptibility to various forms of addiction, so we endeavour to ensure that the conditions we create for all are conducive to a positive mindset and working environment.
“The results of the wellbeing survey are very pleasing as an indication that we’ve taken the right approach and will endeavour to keep finding ways to maintain and improve the current standards that we’re setting for the wider mental and physical health of our team.”
The commitment to mental health and wellbeing also translates to the EPIC Restart Foundation, which is EPIC Risk Management’s official foundation and supports individuals taking the first steps towards recovery from serious gambling harm – with help from those who have also lived through it.
“Lived experience is at the heart of everything we do at the EPIC Restart Foundation,” explains says the foundation’s programme development manager and mentor, Richie Paxton.
“We provide a safe, confidential, empathetic space for everyone taking part in our programmes, to support individuals working through the mental and emotional everyday challenges of recovery from gambling-related harm.
“To support our lived experience team, we also provide monthly supervision sessions with a qualified supervisor, to promote their own good mental health whilst they are mentoring and supporting others.”
To understand how the EPIC Restart Foundation’s work supports a wide range of individuals on their road to recovery from gambling harm, please visit www.epicrestartfoundation.org.
