New Foundation Counselling

UK Construction Week 2017 has been and gone, and it’s been a wonderful experience. With special guests such as Kevin McCloud from Grand Designs, BBC Breakfast’s Steph McGovern and even the Dulux dog, the 3-day event was full of surprises. People from all over the country banded together to discuss construction issues, from the latest technology to the LGBTQ+ community. New Foundation Counselling took to stand B905 to talk about a very sensitive issue in construction – mental health. Despite 1 in every 6 people in our industry having mental health problems, we’re still very reluctant to talk about it, which was one of our focus points during our CEO, Marc Preston’s talks at the event. On day one, Marc spoke in the How To Theatre, discussing ways to recognise the signs of mental health, stress and anxiety in the workplace. The seminar was well attended, and the audience seemed to understand the catastrophic effects poor mental health can have. Poor mental health doesn’t only affect the person with the illness, but also those around them. Someone who suffers from mental health issues could also affect health and safety around the construction site, literally putting lives at risk. This is why it’s so important to look after your employees, and get them the support they need. Owing to the success of the first talk, Marc was asked to speak twice more on the Thursday; the last day of the event. Again, the talks, both of a similar nature, went especially well and helped to raise awareness of the stigma surrounding mental health. Marc also announced the launch of the new best practice mental health policy for use in the industry, the certificate of excellence scheme for firms with good mental health systems in place for staff and our affordable Mental Health First Aid Training. Marc said; “the market is being incredibly responsive to our new initiatives to improve mental health in our sector. I am impressed with the excellent culture and attitudes towards mental health issues being expressed by the decision makers in many of the forward-thinking companies visiting our stand. It was interesting to note that the firms taking up good mental health policies were also those performing best over a range of other corporate matters including growth in profitability.” Creating a brilliant end to a fantastic 3-day event, New Foundation Counselling was awarded the prize for the Best Shell Scheme 2017 at Construction Week. We’re delighted to announce the first of Marc’s talks was recorded, and you can watch the footage here. If you have any questions about New Foundation Counselling or UK Construction Week 2017, please don’t hesitate to get in touch. Call us now on 0800 634 5521 or email us on info@newfoundationcounselling.com to find out how you can support your staff and become a part of the winning team.