Health, Safety and Environment

BT "Workfit 4" Positive Mentality Campaign

18 October 2006

BT has teamed up with mental health charities and unions to launch a major programme to tackle mental health problems among its 104,000-strong workforce.

The "BT 'Work Fit 4 - "Positive Mentality Campaign", a pioneering 16-week mental health fitness programme, was officially launched on 10 October 2006 at the BT Centre with Professor Dame Carol Black the new National Director for Health and Work at the Department of Health in attendance.

BT, in conjunction with the Unions has done a lot to promote mental health in recent years but has confirmed that it has about 500 people off work sick every day with problems such as anxiety, depression and stress. This latest campaign provides guidance to employees on how to improve their mental health both at work and at home.

BT hopes that by encouraging staff to adopt small changes to their lifestyles and by using proven techniques for increasing their resilience they will cope better with the pressures of modern living and work more creatively and productively.

The campaign is the biggest ever drive by a UK company to improve the mental health of its workforce. It has been drawn up by BT, working in collaboration with the Trade Unions "CWU" and "Connect" and with the support of the mental health charities, the "Sainsbury Centre for Mental Health" and "MIND". The "Positive Mentality Campaign" is part of BT's "Work Fit" programme, the initiative that the CWU has been actively involved and engaged in supporting.

The programme aims to demonstrate how regular exercise, healthy eating, relaxation techniques and even the support of friends and family can help to ward off depression, stress and anxiety. It will also educate staff to help reduce the stigma of mental illness and promote the range of support services that BT provides.

CWU National Health, Safety and Environment Officer Dave Joyce said "Mental health problems can affect anyone at any time, young or old, shattering the lives of those affected and the lives of the people close to them. One in four of us will experience a mental health problem at some point in our lives. Each year more than 250,000 people are admitted to psychiatric hospitals and over 4,000 people take their own lives. We want to do what we can to support initiatives aimed at creating a better life for everyone with experience of mental distress through support and information on managing their health condition while working, participating in rehabilitation schemes and promoting inclusion."

There is no need to register to take part and it is completely free, go to the Positive Mentality webpage of BT Today to access the material and follow it week by week as the programme builds.

You will need the Adobe Reader to view PDF files, you can download it free.