HEALTHY MINDS IN YOUR WORKPLACE TRAINING FACTSHEETS - TFS

These group training and consultancy fact sheets are available on request. We design, research and write bespoke workshops, training and seminars to suit your budget and needs in workplace health for the organisation and workforce in the UK.

	Mental health awareness 0.5 day training for line managers TFS1
	Resilience skills TFS 2
	Well being and stress management 2 hours or 0.5 day TFS 3
	Fighting for Health in the Credit Crunch TFS 4
	Healthy Call centres and managing complex behaving customers TFS 5
	Case management service (Stress and mental ill health only): TFS 8
	Remain in or return to work with common mental health problems or stress TFS 6
	Our consultancy services and training guide Download PDF
	Psychological and brief solution focussed therapies see Our consultancy services and training guide TFS 7
	Job Retention Case Management Training guide PDF
	Health and safety training and consultancy TFS 9
	Workplace anti- bullying and harassment training for the workforce TFS10
	Nutrition services and workshops TFS 11
	Understanding and managing alcohol and drug misuse in all settings TFS 13
	Taking effectives lunch  breaks TFS 14

We can provide learning outcomes and training timetables of how your course can look; examples are available on request.

EDITORIAL WELL BEING AND JOB RETENTION

Well Being

The pressures of the recession have differing effects on the mental health of the population,  and the need to enhance the promotion of well being and prevention of ill health, see Foresight ‘Mental Capital and Well Being’ October 2008, is a vital part of an organisations armoury to survive. Giving individuals and organisations these skills can support the survival of organisations in such tough challenging economic times, and enable employees to avoid the pitfalls of presenteeism and sickness absence. Presenteeism, ‘reduced productivity and performance from an employee/Manager unable to work to full capacity due to ill health’ accounts for 1.5 times more working time lost and costs to employers than absenteeism.

As experts, we are all small independently run businesses, providing the most cost effective practical package for individuals to use in their private and work life has become a priority in our history of developing well being and workplace health promoting solutions for employers.

Fighting for Health in the Credit Crunch

Is a 0.5 day or 2 hours shorter version well being workshop that gives individuals practical skills they can use to promote their health 24/7. Although this uses a wider range of skills than a course in stress management, there are important elements of this in the menu covered. Participants learn new interlinking skills including:

	Using self discussion
	'The daily unwind' a practical step by step system with partner or friends
	Challenging negative thinking and worrying
	Your own reward system, what and implementation
	Sleep - combat problems
	Lone working
	I control time
	Effective relaxation exercises including shoulder and neck tension release

A full content list of what we cover is in the TFS 4 on request.

We can work for a cluster of 3 organisations, where one takes the lead, or for business organisations, anywhere in the UK

Peter Christison

JOB RETENTION

The government has decided to adopt all of Dame Carol Black’s recommendations contained in her review ‘Towards a healthier tomorrow’ which addressed the burning issue of adverse stress and mental health in the workplace.
The author has, for many years, campaigned for national strategy to address these issues and, at last the Government Departments of Health and Work & Pensions have developed a strategy which comprehensively addresses all the clearly identified needs.
Firstly, GP’s will be the recipients of a national training programme to enable them to report more effectively to employers on the condition of their sick employees. Instead of a ‘sick note’ which contained little or no information for employers there will be a ‘fitness note’ – a significant shift from what patients can’t do to what they can do.
This cultural change will make the G.Ps role pro-active rather than simply defensive on behalf of their patients. Also it will mean that the doctor will now be making recommendations on how best their patients can successfully return to work. The traditional response of the family doctor was to sign patients off work for a month with nothing more than a ‘pill’ for therapy. Under this ‘regime’ the patients health would often deteriorate, not improve. They were often consigned to ‘limbo’ with no practical steps for their recovery. To aid speedier communication between Doctor and employer, an ‘electronic’ system for reporting sickness absence will be developed. These changes will be piloted around the U.K. before being universally adopted.
 Part of the problem for the G.P. practice has been the lack of resources for counselling and therapies such as cognitive behavioural therapy. This issue is now being addressed through the Dept. of Health firstly, investing £35 million for pilots which will improve access to these therapies and then rolling out this service for all G.P. surgeries in England. In order that therapy doesn’t exist in a vacuum and the G.P. is not simply treating ‘symptoms.
Accompanying these therapists will be employment advisers, or case managers, who will case manage their patients’ return to work; carry out comprehensive assessments (including the workplace) to ensure that the therapy supports the persons’ return to work. In conducting these assessments the G.P. will be best informed as to what modifications and adjustments are necessary in the work/home environment in order to facilitate their patients’ recovery. In other words, often it’s not only the patient who needs to get well but often the work culture as well!  A good assessment will also identify where simple problem solving, such as debt management can be more effective and cheaper than medication or the ‘talking therapies’.
Everyone who has been involved in Job Retention knows that you cannot look at retention without addressing ‘prevention’ as well. To this end, the Government are launching a series of measures to help reduce stress related sickness absence. Of note, will be the setting up of a special fund to help small and medium sized enterprises to address these issues. Grants will be awarded for innovative schemes. No doubt Peter Christison will have more to say on this subject – he is the expert, after all!
Between now and Easter Dave Costello and I will have trained over 300 people in Job Retention Case Management throughout England to meet the demands of these new initiatives. We are also participating in establishing national standards and qualifications for this activity.
We are also conscious that employers need more information on best practice in this field and so will be happy to help them ‘get up to speed’.

Roger Butterworth