Former England rugby union player Will Greenwood has become the latest sporting celebrity to back Legal & General’s ‘Not a Red Card’ campaign.
The initiative was launched to tackle the stigma surrounding mental health in the workplace and encourage businesses to take action to protect their employees’ mental health.
The latest video builds on the launch of the FTSE 100 insurer’s campaign last year, working with sporting personalities such as International rugby union referees Nigel Owens and TV presenter Gabby Logan to raise awareness of mental health in the workplace.
While the focus of the 2017 campaign was to get employers and employees talking about mental health, the 2018 campaign aims to take this a step further and encourage employers to take action and implement solutions that encourage mentally healthy workforces.
As part of this, Legal & General is hosting its inaugural Not A Red Card mental health awards on 30 October 2018, celebrating businesses which have developed and implemented best practices around addressing mental health in the workplace.
The insurer will also be teaming up with leading mental health partners such as Mind and City Mental Health Alliance to deliver a range of resources that provide information to employers on how they can create effective mental health strategies in the workplace.
A survey from Legal & General’s 2017 forum, found that 48% of business leaders didn’t feel their employees would confide in a colleague if they were struggling with their own mental wellbeing, even though 84% said that mental health has personally impacted their performance at work.
However, the desire to do more around mental health in the workplace is highlighted by 38% of business leaders saying their organisation already has clear policies and tools in place to support employee mental wellbeing. Another 23% said that even though they didn’t have a mental health strategy now, they were looking to create something in the next 12 months.
Nigel Wilson, CEO at Legal & General, said: “The importance of encouraging both employers and employees to open up about mental health issues and tackling the stigma associated with them cannot be overstated. Businesses have a key role to play in changing attitudes around mental health in the workplace and ensuring the wellbeing of their employees.
“Through our ‘Not A Red Card’ campaign, we want to o encourage business leaders to take action in building robust mental health strategies. At Legal & General our aim is to develop a positive culture of good mental health and wellbeing throughout the organisation.
“It’s fantastic to have the support of so many sports champions as we continue in our aim to normalise conversations around mental health.”
Greenwood added: “I know from personal experience that mental illness doesn’t discriminate, it affects people of all ages and backgrounds across the UK. Despite the good work that has been done there is still a stigma attached to discussing mental health issues in the workplace.
“We need to drive change and ensure that people feel comfortable talking openly and honestly about their mental health, in the same way they’d discuss their physical health. I’m proud to be involved with the ‘Not A Red Card’ campaign and to use this platform to make a difference and ensure people have the support they need, when they need it the most.”