THE UK’s leading independent hotel management company, RBH, has signed an employer pledge with Time to Change – cementing its support of positive mental health in the workplace.
Time to Change is a growing social movement run by charities Mind and Rethink Mental Illness, which support people to open up about mental health problems. By signing, RBH is streamlining its employee support initiatives and challenging the way we all think and act about mental health in the workplace.
The four core values RBH aims to uphold are acting with integrity, delivering operational excellence, having the ambition to continuously improve, and showing care.
Embedded within these values is a culture where RBH is committed to positive employee wellbeing for everyone working within the diverse collection of over 45 branded and private label hotel properties under its management.
To formalise this commitment further, RBH conducted a signing ceremony of the Time to Change pledge at Holiday Inn Express London – Earl’s Court. This included the launch of an action plan of activity that will help to break the silence that surrounds mental health in the workplace.
As part of the plan, changes to ensure a healthy work-life balance and opportunities for development will be implemented and communicated to all employees, as well as open conversations about mental health support being actively encouraged.
Hannah Elliott, Group culture and reward manager at RBH, said: “Our Executive Committee strongly believes that caring about our people and helping them develop with RBH, in turn, creates a happier environment for everyone.
“Our values are key to the way in which we operate our hotels and look after our people. They are fully aligned to the personal values of our senior team and are lived and breathed throughout the organisation every day.
“Our vision is for all of us to make changes that can have an impact on our collective health and wellbeing at work and at home! We want all our teams to understand the importance of health and wellbeing and know how they can get involved and access the right tools and training to deliver this.
“By implementing and committing to a mental health at work plan, we know it will enhance our already strong commitment to supporting our colleagues on all mental health issues.”
RBH is a driving force in the hospitality industry and by signing Time to Change pledge, joins the wide movement of over 450 organisations.
Jo Loughran, Interim Director of Time to Change, said: “We know it can be hard to talk about mental health, which is why we’re supporting employers to open up; to talk and to listen. Too many people with mental health problems are made to feel isolated, ashamed and worthless, but with the right support, those of us with mental health problems can recover and have equal opportunities in all areas of life. Everyone’s attitude makes a difference and it’s fantastic to see organisations like RBH taking the lead.
“Many leading employers have found that making a strategic commitment to the mental wellbeing of their workforce not only benefits their staff but also their bottom-line, improving productivity and staff retention. With one in six British workers experiencing mental illness, it’s time for businesses to make a change and start creating more mentally healthy workplaces.”
Time to Change is funded by the Department of Health, Comic Relief and the Big Lottery Fund. Set up to create a positive shift in public attitudes towards mental health problems, Time to Change supports communities, schools and workplaces to open up to mental health problems; to talk and to listen.
