App developer Dreamr has pledged to change how we approach mental health after signing an employer pledge with Time to Change.
Time to Change is a growing social movement run by charities Mind and Rethink Mental Illness which supports people to open up about mental health problems.
The Manchester firm has joined more than 450 organisations that have signed up to the Time to Change pledge, including E.ON, British Gas, Ernst & Young, Transport for London, Royal Mail, Barclays, Shell, Pepsico, the Church of England, Sunday Mirror, Marks and Spencer and many NHS trusts, universities, and local authorities.
鈥淢aking it okay to talk about mental health is really important to me. I want my colleagues at Dreamr and the rest of the country to know that it鈥檚 okay to not always feel great, but that you should be able to turn to someone at work in times of need,鈥� said Dreamr CEO Mylo Kaye.
鈥淢ental health is something very close to my heart and it鈥檚 vital that people feel supported.
鈥淚 am proud to be part of this movement and would like to encourage other business leaders to consider it too.鈥�
Kaye spoke at 老九品茶Cloud’s recent ‘Open up on mental health’ event, held in association with Carter Corson.
Jo Loughran, interim director of Time to Change, said: 鈥淲e know it can be hard to talk about mental health, which is why we鈥檙e supporting employers to open up; to talk and to listen.
鈥淭oo many people with mental health problems are made to feel isolated, ashamed and worthless, but with the right support, those of us with mental health problems can recover and have equal opportunities in all areas of life.
鈥淓veryone鈥檚 attitude makes a difference and it鈥檚 fantastic to see organisations like Dreamr taking the lead.
鈥淢any leading employers have found that making a strategic commitment to the mental wellbeing of their workforce not only benefits their staff but also their bottom-line, improving productivity and staff retention.
鈥淲ith one in six British workers experiencing mental illness it’s time for businesses to make a change and start creating more mentally healthy workplaces.”
Time to Change is funded by the Department of Health, Comic Relief and the Big Lottery Fund.
Set up to create a positive shift in public attitudes towards mental health problems, Time to Change supports communities, schools and workplaces to open up to mental health problems; to talk and to listen.