Bridgend College achieves Gold at Mind’s Workplace Wellbeing Awards

Bridgend College has once again been recognised for its commitment to workplace wellbeing.

The College was one of 114 organisations to take part in Mind’s fifth annual Workplace Wellbeing Index this year, and was recognised with a Gold Award. This means that we have successfully embedded mental health into policies and practices, utilising a variety of best practice approaches, and demonstrating a long-term, in-depth commitment to staff mental health.

Mind’s Workplace Wellbeing Index is a benchmark of best policy and practice, celebrating the good work employers are doing to promote and support positive mental health, and providing key recommendations on the specific areas where there is room to improve. The online event this year, hosted by Mind’s Chief Executive, Paul Farmer, took place on the 8 June and saw around 200 people from a wide range of organisations come together to celebrate the awards.

Mind surveyed more than 42,000 employees across the 114 employers participating in the Index and included an additional section on the impact of Covid-19.

As a College, we have developed a supportive, safe environment where staff and students can openly discuss mental health and access a wide range of services at their own pace. Some of the innovative staff initiatives we have delivered across the College include; free online yoga, Mindfulness for Leaders programme, healthy options as part of our refectory offer, and various enrichment activities throughout the year. By participating in Mind’s Workplace Wellbeing Index, we have made a long-term commitment to supporting the mental wellbeing of our staff. Going forward, we will be reviewing the findings from our report and developing a plan for implementing the key recommendations.

The aim of our Wellbeing Strategy is simply to create a work and learning environment where staff and students can thrive and achieve their full potential. We measure the impact of our interventions and support through frequent staff and student surveys, combined with continuous dialogue and analysis of key data. Insights from various surveys ensure we keep delivering an all-encompassing action plan. 

Sam Morgan, Director of People said: 

“Our work around mental health will never be complete and there will always be more we can do to reduce the stigma. We are really proud of the difference our staff are making and how they are supporting each other through the toughest of times. This award demonstrates how far we have travelled together as an organisation and the feedback we have received allows us to focus on areas where we can make an even greater impact in the future.”

Simon Pirotte, Principal and CEO added,

“I am delighted that Bridgend College has received this recognition for our work on mental health and wellbeing. The current climate has meant that supporting each other has become even more important and this has been a collective team effort through some challenging times. I am very proud to work alongside colleagues that care so much about each other.”

Emma Mamo, Head of Workplace Wellbeing at Mind, said:

“It inspires me to see how all the organisations participating in the Index are taking positive steps to support the mental health of their employees. In the last year, the coronavirus pandemic has affected all our lives; the way we work has fundamentally changed, whether that is working on the frontline or working at home. Employers therefore faced, and continue to face, significant challenges in effectively supporting the wellbeing of their people in this new and uncertain context. That’s why, this year more than ever, we were delighted to celebrate the employers making mental health a priority for their organisation through our Workplace Wellbeing Awards.

As we would expect, the impact of coronavirus on the mental health of staff is a resounding theme in this year’s Index results; working longer hours and poorer work/life balance were key themes. However, it has been heartening to see how many employers have supported the mental health of their people in this particularly challenging year, and these awards provide a wonderful opportunity to recognise and celebrate those forward-thinking employers who are dedicated to investing in the wellbeing of their staff.”

We would like to thank everyone helping to promote and support positive mental health in our workplace and are very proud to be making a difference.