O
ne of the key challenges today is maintaining mental health. How can professionals in the security sector
support themselves, their colleagues and their organisations to achieve good mental well-being?
There is a growing movement to raise mental health awareness, stop the stigma associated with mental illness and improve workplace understanding and support. This is of increasing importance in the security sector, where people often work in isolation in challenging roles and may feel hesitant about discussing their mental health.
The COVID-19 pandemic has brought additional pressures, with security staff continuing to work during lockdown to keep staff and buildings safe, with the risk of feeling alone and vulnerable, concerns about health and family members, job retention and potential financial problems.
In light of this, Perpetuity Research and World Excellence Awards recently held a webinar: ‘Mental health, well-being and the security sector’, with chair Martin Gill and a range of specialists sharing their expertise and good practice:
Pippa Seed Mental Health First Aid England
www.mentalhealth-training.co.uk.
Philip Ingram Managing Editor at Grey Hare Media
www.greyharemedia.com
Harmeet Anand PCC Executive Ontological Coach
https://coach4max.com
Yolanda Hamblen Account Director at DS Security Operations
www.dssecurity.co.uk
Here are some of the highlights of their discussion.
The importance of mental health
The panel began by introducing their approach to mental health. Pippa Seed opened with, “Our mental health is very much a part of our overall health and quite often overlooked. Like our physical health, our mental health exists on a continuum and fluctuates in different times in our life, depending on how much support we've got it and how many stresses we have.”
Philip Ingram added, “One in four of us at some point suffer from some form of mental illness. I describe myself as a depression and PTSD survivor – I've managed to get the normal me back. This is one of my key messages: it is a normal, treatable condition and at times, we all may need a little help.”
Harmeet brought her perspective: “We are part of a culture where it's declared that rational thinking is what makes us great human beings. I bring the integrated aspect of us as human beings, so that we can begin conversations around emotions and moods and shape cultures where we bring all of that which makes us humans.”
Yolanda said, “Security roles require a tremendous amount of resilience and discipline. Our officers have to be very diligent in carrying out their duties. Leaders in security have to go that extra mile to ensure our people know how to be equally as resilient over their mental health.”
How security organisations can support their staff with mental health issues
The panel discussed the importance of security organisations embracing mental health at the highest levels. Yolanda said, “There is a greater need now more than ever to have far better personal contact with our colleagues. One of the key things is to see leadership acting proactively; making sure that our colleagues on the frontline always have somebody to talk to, feel part of a team rather than feeling they are on their own.”
Yolanda expanded on employer responsibilities: “We need to make it a safe space for our people to be able to come to us with concerns around mental health. We need to keep an open dialogue and help people to feel empowered.”
Pippa added, “We need organisations to look after their employees’ mental health illness or
16 © CI TY S ECURI TY MAGAZ INE – AUTUMN 2020 www. c i t y s e cu r i t ymaga z i n e . com
mental wellness and encourage them to make support available at an early stage. Maintaining good mental health is actually a lot easier as an organisation than trying to help people if their mental health deteriorates; it is easier to intervene at an early stage.”
A key aspect of this is overcoming the stigma around mental health. Yolanda explained, “People assume that they will meet with judgement, that if they talk about being stressed or overwhelmed, when promotion comes up, they will be passed up because they're not good at dealing with things. A change in attitude is needed. If you have the self-awareness to acknowledge you have a problem, then it should be viewed as a positive thing. I would encourage organisations to lead by example from the top down, to give people that safety and that feeling that they are able to do that without negative judgement.”
Philip gave his personal insight:“You can see people disassociating themselves from you because they don't want to catch it. There's a lot of misunderstanding about mental health and what causes it and how it can be cured. Most mental health conditions will pass with little or no interaction from professionals while some mental health conditions require some interaction. It's like any illness: if you interact very early it can be dealt with and treated very easily.”
Good mental health while working at home
The panel moved on to discuss how to maintain good mental health while working at home.
Page 1 |
Page 2 |
Page 3 |
Page 4 |
Page 5 |
Page 6 |
Page 7 |
Page 8 |
Page 9 |
Page 10 |
Page 11 |
Page 12 |
Page 13 |
Page 14 |
Page 15 |
Page 16 |
Page 17 |
Page 18 |
Page 19 |
Page 20 |
Page 21 |
Page 22 |
Page 23 |
Page 24 |
Page 25 |
Page 26 |
Page 27 |
Page 28 |
Page 29 |
Page 30 |
Page 31 |
Page 32 |
Page 33 |
Page 34 |
Page 35 |
Page 36
