Be Wellsafe at Work - Mental Health Awareness Week
Ensuring the health safety and wellbeing of my colleagues is something I am very passionate about. As a Health and Safety Representative and TSSA Executive Committee member I actively work to keep people safe and well - but health and safety is everyone’s responsibility. Even if that means reporting a stray cable as a trip hazard that could cause an injury to someone, or a manager encouraging people to take regular breaks from Display Screen Equipment, little actions are important so no one gets injured. Employees should enjoy their work without worrying about their safety, and when we can enjoy our work, we become more productive as a result.
This week is Mental Health Awareness week. Too often mental health and wellbeing is deprioritised or not seen as an issue of health and safety at work. Our Mental Health & Wellbeing Bargaining Standard helps keep mental health on the agenda at work. Our union is committed to creating positive change that will improve the wellbeing of our members, which is especially important given the important cultural change our union is driving at the moment, and the cost of living crisis everyone is experiencing.
That’s why your union is launching our first Wellsafe Survey today, to give you an opportunity to tell us what is impacting your health, safety and wellbeing at work. There are so many things we can all do, but your input will help us prioritise what will make a difference now, from negotiating new policies and strategies with employers, making sure your work equipment doesn’t give you long term injuries such as back pain, providing free period products for women in each staff toilet, to addressing unsafe work cultures that enable bullying, harassment, and discrimination. Tell us what is most important to you.
And if you are just as passionate about health, safety and wellbeing, why not become a TSSA rep and help us make a positive difference on all these points and more? We need more people to get involved and make sure our workplaces and industry are safe, healthy, enjoyable places to work that enhance our wellbeing.
The survey is open now, just click the link below.
Be safe and well,
Melissa Heywood
Chair, TSSA National Health & Safety Steering Committee
Mental Health Awareness Week, 15-19 May 2023
The theme for Mental Health Awareness Week is Anxiety. Here are some links to resources from key organisations that you can use for mental health awareness week:
Mental Health Foundation (UK) – a coalition of four charities, including Rethink
https://www.mentalhealth.org.uk/our-work/public-engagement/mental-health-awareness-week
(Wales specific) https://www.mentalhealth.org.uk/wales
Rethink – here are the resources from Rethink
https://www.rethink.org/get-involved/awareness-days-and-events/mental-health-awareness-week/
Health in Mind – Scotland
https://www.health-in-mind.org.uk/news-and-campaigns/mental-health-week/#
Aware NI - An organisation in Northern Ireland, here is a personal story 'Anxiety and me'
https://aware-ni.org/news/mental-health-awareness-week-anxiety-and-me
Mind – Mind are focussing on the cost-of-living crisis for this week
https://www.mind.org.uk/get-involved/mental-health-awareness-week/
Wellbeing Wednesdays & Rail Wellbeing Live
On the first Wednesday of each month there is a Rail Wellbeing online event. April’s Wellbeing Wednesday focussed on Anxiety. This week there is a special event to mark Mental Health Awareness Week: Supporting the mental health or rail workers, 17 May 1100-1145
Find links to this week's event and the past Wellbeing Wednesdays here
Save the date: This year's annual Rail Wellbeing Live is being held virtually from 7-9 November 2023.
