Supporting mental health challenges is something businesses should do all year round, not just on World Mental Health Day, Brightstar Group’s CEO Rob Jupp said.
In an interview with mental health charity Sane, Jupp said businesses and the wider sector always needed to evolve and keep abreast of what was happening.
He said firms should make sure their company had the “right culture” and that “people’s wellbeing remains absolutely centric”.
Jupp said: “As much as it’s great to celebrate World Mental Health Day, it’s really important to understand that it’s not something you do once a year under your ESG [environmental, social, and governance] credentials, but something you should do every single day.
“It should be the living embodiment of your business.”
Jupp said it was important to make sure that while he was still here and in preparation for when he would not be around, “the culture of this business will be the same”.
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Brightstar Group has introduced mental health first aiders to the business and its employees have monthly coaching sessions where they can discuss their professional or personal life.
The group also holds an annual Staff Mood Survey to see if the business is making the right progress and what might need to change.
Greater challenges with mental health
Jupp suggested recent times had made it harder to manage mental health, saying: “I have certainly never lived in an age that has been more uncertain and more unpredictable or where mental health has been under more of a challenge than right now.
“The pandemic and post-pandemic certainly created an unpleasant environment.”
“I also think social media has played a fairly negative role with people’s mental health. It’s really important for us to take stock of that, and we understand that things are moving rapidly,” Jupp added.
Jupp said he had realised the need to be open about his own mental health around six years ago, adding: “It’s amazing when someone in a senior position says: ‘It’s okay not to be okay. This is what I’ve got, and this is who I am’.
“People really appreciate admitting one’s natural vulnerability because everyone is vulnerable, everyone’s got their own issues with their lives, and I think I’m probably just accepting that mine are a little bit more transparent. I certainly don’t thrive for personal perfection because I just generally don’t believe it truly exists.”
Read the full interview here: World Mental Health Day: Rob Jupp on Workplace Mental Health, Leadership, and Brightstar’s Commitment to Wellbeing
