Equal Access Network: Are workplace mental health initiatives good PR?
The public relations industry is renowned for its fast-paced, high energy working culture, but does that culture place an unhealthy strain on the workforce? The CIPR's State of the Profession Survey spotlights a worrying trend. When asked to indicate levels of well-being and happiness on a scale of 1-5 (1 indicating extremely happy and 5 indicating extremely unhappy), just under a third (30%) of respondents selected 4 or 5. The data suggests that the 24 hour news cycle and 'always on' culture places dangerously high levels of stress on PR professionals. This demanding evironment means it's more important than ever for PR employers to be equipped with the knowledge and skills to manage mental health issues. On Wednesday 18 May, The CIPR Diversity and Inclusion Forum (DIF) will host a free-to-attend Equal Access Network event focussing on workplace mental health initiatives, in support of Mental Health Awareness Week. Legal Director at the Business Disability Forum (BDF) and Employers Network for Equality & Inclusion (enei) Associate, Bela Gor will reveal how organisations can implement effective mental health initiatives for employees. The event will also reflect on how communications professionals can engage with mental health from a campaigns perspective. CIPR Diversity and Inclusion Forum member and the PR Office's Rajmeena Aujla will discuss the issues, challenges and opportunities mental health presents PR professionals. The event will begin with a short talk from Digital Media Consultant, Paul Sutton, who'll reflect on his experience of working in public relations since being diagnosed with depression ten years ago. There will be an opportunity to network over drinks and light refreshments after the talks. For further information, email Koray Camgoz or call 0207 631 6966. Please note, the event is free to attend but booking is essential due to limited availability. About the speakers Bela Gor has over 20 years' of all aspects of disability discrimination law and best practice including, Providing high-level consultancy support to business and government agencies and leading reviews and improvement processes for organisations. She has worked closely with the financial, retail, broadcast media and health sectors and advises on a variety of subjects ranging from the law and reasonable adjustments in both employment and customer contexts to consumers in vulnerable situations and accessible technology and mental health. She is a lawyer who took some of the earliest cases under the then new Disability Discrimination Act 1995 while working for the Disability Law Service, a UK law centre for disabled people, and has since influenced the development of the legislation in the UK. Rajmeena Aujla initially trained as a lawyer and has over six years of corporate, finance, public affairs and media communications experience including stints with Ogilvy PR and FleishmanHillard. Early on in her career Raj headed up the PR for a British Asian Music channel and a UK start-up in Birmingham. Rajmeena is also a board member of the CIPR's Diversity and Inclusion Forum and a Trustee for OurMala, a socially conscious yoga refugee charity. Paul Sutton is an independent social and digital media consultant who has worked in marketing communications for nearly 20 years. Prior to going solo he had worked in PR agencies for the majority of his career, experiencing first-hand the pressures that the public relations industry can put on people. Paul was also diagnosed with depression ten years ago. He is now very open about it and, since he started talking about his experiences on his blog and publicly on social media, he has become aware of just how rife mental health issues are within the communications industry and is regularly approached by other sufferers.
at CIPR Centre
52-53 Russell Square
City of London, United Kingdom
Orignal From: Equal Access Network: Are workplace mental health initiatives good PR?
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