World Mental Health Day is an opportunity for all of us to reflect on our mental wellbeing.
We are fortunate to work with clients who not only encourage good mental health in their workplaces but have made it their mission to improve and actively promote mental wellbeing.
Here are three clients who are doing great things to improve mental health in Australia.
Loud coloured shirts amplify an important message
If you haven’t yet seen the bold and bright work shirts TradeMutt have created (for both men and women), here is an example of what we are talking about:
Dan and Ed wear their TradeMutt shirts with pride. Photo by @TradeMutt.
While their tradie shirts are durable, vibrant and fun, their origins came about because of a very serious and important issue. Australian Workwear brand TradeMutt was started by two Brisbane-based carpenters wanting to do something about the rate of male suicide in Australia, following the tragic and unexpected death of a close friend.
A percentage of their sales go towards men’s mental health campaign This Is A Conversation Starter, run by not-for-profit organisation Spur.
On their website and Instagram page you will see the words “Making an invisible issue impossible to ignore” and they’ve definitely done a good job of that. Each shirt comes with a leaflet to give its wearer advice on how to start potentially life-saving conversations with a mate or co-worker.
Dogs saving soldiers’ lives
Whiskey’s Wish Inc was founded in November 2014 by K. Scott Jackman (Jacko). The organisation is named in honor of his late assistance dog “Whiskey” who provided him with support after he was medically discharged from the Australian Army, following an injury.
Having been diagnosed with Major Depression, PTSD and debilitating back and neck injuries in 2013, Scott understood the challenges his fellow service men and women faced and founded the organisation to help support others and share his knowledge, experiences and empathy.
By training highly skilled Service Dogs, Whiskey’s Wish Inc aims to provide years of mobility and social support to defence force veterans, first responders and correctional officers who suffer from PTSD and service related injuries.
Support for the guys and girls in blue
Blue Hope is a non-profit organisation run by current and former police officers for current and former Australian police officers and their families. While their head office is in Queensland, Blue Hope is a national organisation providing services including confidential in-person counselling, to cops struggling with mental illness and PTSD, but they are not affiliated with any Law Enforcement Agency (LEA) in Australia.
In addition to fundraisers and group activities, they encourage the police community to provide each other with social and emotional support and to check in with each other.
Make mental health more visible this World Mental Health Day
At MBIP we are a progressive firm that is proud to encourage work-life balance through flexible work arrangements. The 9-day work fortnight we instituted almost a year ago now has been successful and fosters high engagement and productivity while reducing stress, keeping our team happy and healthy!
No matter what industry you work in, it is important that people continue to speak out, ask for help and raise awareness to improve mental health.