Technology

Posted on November 7, 2017 by staff

What do you do if your team is struggling?: AECOM

Technology

Every day this week we’re sharing the stories of workplaces that are putting mental health at the top of their agenda.

The second company we’re hearing from is engineering firm AECOM.

Karen Barrow is a senior manager for culture & change for the company, which recently established a Wellbeing project team.

“We believe that by encouraging employees to talk openly about their mental health in the workplace,” she says.

“By building capability amongst our managers to recognise the signs of potential issues, we can create an environment where mental health awareness is part of everyday activity.

“To coincide with Mental Awareness Week we piloted an exercise called ‘Elephant in the room’.

“We put up posters around the office posing the questions: 1) How are you feeling today? 2) What stops you from talking about your mental health? 3) What can AECOM do to encourage more openness towards the subject of poor mental health?

“We made sticky notes available for staff to write their responses and then asked them to anonymously place them next to the poster.

“Staff were surprisingly candid. It was wonderful to see something so powerful happen from a very simple exercise.”