Below you will find a selection of resources about mental health at work.
We’ve curated this page to complement your classroom training, providing additional insights as well as a recap of some of the tools discussed during the course. The content of this page is updated whenever we find something we think you’ll find useful, so please check back now and then to discover more.
Useful articles
 | Matt Haig is a writer of novels and non-fiction. His bestselling memoir about his experience of depression is called Reasons to Stay Alive (see below for details). This is an article about him and his approach: Notes on a Nervous Planet |
| An interesting article looking at the relationship between mental health an diet. What is the Best Diet for Mental Health |
| A short summary of Ruby Wax’s talk on the power of relationships and duvet days at the Health and Safety Expo. We Flourish when we have our Tribe |
| For the scientifically minded, here’s a fascinating article on the neuroscience of wellbeing: The Neuroscience of Wellbeing |
Useful links
Time to Change: Be in your Mate’s Corner
https://www.time-to-change.org.uk/news/be-in-your-mates-corner
Time to Change: Ask twice
https://www.time-to-change.org.uk/asktwice
Business in the Community: Mental health toolkit
https://www.bitc.org.uk/toolkit/mental-health-for-employers-toolkit/
Heads together
https://www.headstogether.org.uk/
Interesting books
 | This book provides an excellent toolkit to help navigate the stresses and strains of modern life. With practical advice, it inspires the reader to be far more attentive to their own wellbeing. Employers and managers will help themselves, their staff and their organisation if they endorse and share the recommendations in this book. https://www.amazon.co.uk/Mind-Body-Balance-Business-resilience/dp/0993201938/ref=sr_1_1?keywords=mind+body+balance+in+business&qid=1567683077&s=gateway&sr=8-1 |
| I had the privilege to listen to Jonny Benjamin MBE tell his story in person. It’s powerful and many might have seen the #FindMike campaign with the support of Rethink Mental Illness which became a social media sensation. His book tells the story. http://jonnybenjamin.co.uk/#aboutjonny |
| Matt Haig’s Reasons to Stay Alive is a brilliant memoir about coping with anxiety and depression. http://www.matthaig.com/books/reasons-to-stay-alive-2/. |
| Amy Cuddy weaves together practical examples, science and storytelling. She shows us how bringing our boldest, most authentic selves to challenging situations inspires others to do the same. Her book is called Presence and chapter three is a powerful story of how listening can bring about incredible change, for the better. |
| Work is a place where most of us spend a large percentage of our waking hours. Yet for many, the workplace is a source of stress and anxiety. In Awakening Compassion at Work Monica C. Worline and Jane E. Dutton give an overview of the problem and science-based solutions. |
| Flourish by Martin Seligman. A book about what wellbeing really is and how to achieve greater happiness based on Positive Psychology.. |
| Time to Think: Listening to Ignite the Human Mind by Nancy Kline reminds us that everything we do depends on the thinking we do first, and our thinking depends on the quality of our attention for one another. Kline defines The Thinking Environment and provides a useful model of human behaviour. |
| Overcoming Depression: The Curse of the Strong by Dr Tim Cantopher. A comprehensive and accessible overview of depressive illness. Generously supplied with illuminating anecdotes and insights, this book has specific advice about what to do if you are currently unwell, as well as valuable information for caregivers, medical professionals, or anyone interested in this destructive illness, which is set to become the second biggest health burden in the world after heart disease.research. |
| Eat Move Sleep by New York Times Bestselling author, Tom Rath, will help you make good decisions for your health automatically. Quietly managing a serious illness for over 20 years, Rath has assembled a wide range of information on the impact of eating, moving and sleeping. This book features the most proven and practical ideas from his research. |
| The Telomere Effect by Nobel Prize winner Elizabeth Blackburn and health psychologist, Elissa Epel explores the biological basis for the link between mental wellbeing and physical health and longevity. |
Insightful talks
Dan Cable talking about ‘Lighting up our working lives’.
Professor Dan Cable argues that modern businesses take too much of the cause and effect out of work, which means workers don’t experience the dopamine surge that ‘lights us up’. That can cause stress and illness. The answer, he suggests, lies in allowing workers to find more meaning and get in touch with the end results of what they do.
Geoff McDonald on mental health stigma
Geoff McDonald is the Former Global VP of HR at Unilever. Here he talks about mental health stigma in the corporate setting from a personal perspective. He is also very active on Twitter @geoffmcdonald1.
Shaun Achor on positive psychology
A discussion of habits and techniques for achieving a positive mindset derived from research into positive psychology.
 | An audio talk about breathing techniques and the power they can have to improve your mental health and well-being by Max Strom. |
Charities seeking to end mental health stigma
Time to Change – for employers and individuals
It’s worth exploring the site which is full of practical tips and information including how to join the 874 organisation that have pledged to end mental health stigma: https://www.time-to-change.org.uk/get-involved/get-your-workplace-involved/employer-pledge. This charity is backed by Mind which has its own rich set of resource which you can find here: https://www.mind.org.uk/workplace/mental-health-at-work/taking-care-of-your-staff/useful-resources/ for employers and for individual this is a good place to start: https://www.mind.org.uk/information-support/.
Business in the Community – for employers
Mental Health for Employers with a toolkit: https://wellbeing.bitc.org.uk/all-resources/toolkits/mental-health-employers
Here is a workplace guide called Listen up: https://www.bitc.org.uk/resources-training/toolkits/listen-letstalk-mental-health-listen-respond-and-provide-support-0
Heads Together – for individuals
https://www.headstogether.org.uk/about/
Head Talks: https://www.headtalks.com/
Prince William launched a website Mental Health at Work: https://edition.cnn.com/2018/09/11/health/prince-william-mental-health-website-intl/index.html and https://www.mentalhealthatwork.org.uk/
Samaritans
Making a good job of mental health at work: https://www.samaritans.org/how-we-can-help/workplace/wellbeing-workplace/